Educational signs along the Center Lake public beach and trail, and Pike Lake beach and the southern shore, cover a variety of lake science topics to get people thinking about what goes on in the lakes more than what they can see.
Wednesday afternoon, a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the dozen signs took place at Pike Lake with representatives of the Warsaw Stormwater Utility, Lilly Center for Lakes & Streams, Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department, Mayor Jeff Grose and the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce.
Grose welcomed everyone to the event.
“Again, great efforts to protect our lakes and this is just another example of it,” Grose said.
Brandon Cordell, MS4 coordinator for the city of Warsaw, said, “The installation of these educational signs will provide ongoing education on the topics of water quality and environmental engineering. These educational signs will not only provide ongoing education, but will serve as a reminder of the importance of our natural environment and how it protects our service waters.”
He said the project came to fruition through the partnership between the city of Warsaw and the Lilly Center for Lakes & Streams.
“The Stormwater Utility appreciates the efforts of the parties involved and our community for accepting change when it comes to protecting and promoting healthy waters,” Cordell stated.
Dr. Nate Bosch, Creighton Brothers endowed director of the Lilly Center for Lakes & Streams, said he was looking back and this collaboration started in 2017 with Cordell’s predecessor, Ryan Workman.
“I love how the city is looking ahead to the community’s well-being. The shoreline restoration project improves fishing and recreational opportunities,” he stated. “... That contributes over $313 million in Kosciusko County every year. That is our lakes contributing to our local economy.”

    Shown is a close-up of one of the dozen educational signs at Pike and Center lakes. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union
  

The mission of the Lilly Center for Lakes & Streams is clean, healthy, safe and beautiful lakes and streams, Bosch said, “and the shoreline restoration actually does all four of those things. So as these plants continue to come in and mature, they’re actually cleaning up the lake behind us.”
Those plants absorb nutrients as they’re growing.
“Our biggest problem on both Pike and Center lake is too much phosphorous, which is a nutrient that causes weeds and algae to grow. So as these plants along the shoreline absorb that phosphorous, they’re actually making the lakes then - at the shoreline restoration borders - cleaner. And then healthier. We want people to be out in these parks and be healthy. The shoreline plantings create kind of a visual barrier so we don’t have as much water fowl coming up on the shoreline and beaches. That’s a source of e. Coli, which can make people sick,” Bosch said.
Continuing, he said, “Another thing we work in, in our mission, is safe and we can increase safety with people being able to use these things safely. And then more beautiful.”
While the plants don’t look like it now because the area is coming out of winter, Bosch said as the plants mature over the next two to three years, “We’re going to see some beautiful wildflowers. Different colors, even into the fall and winter months, as these grasses and forbs - which is a fancy way of saying wildflowers - start to come in and start to fill in along the shoreline and keep these lakes nice for the future.”
The signs that were officially commemorated Wednesday “is a thoughtful touch to the restoration work that’s already been done,” Bosch said, acknowledging Parks Superintendent Larry Plummer and his department for being partners on the project.
“This will increase water literacy and also that we can be better stewards of these natural resources,” he stated.
Bosch acknowledged Rusty Martinez, Lilly Center assistant director of marketing for helping put the content together; Hannah Godfrey, marketing assistant, who helped with some of the content on the signs; and Aaron Winey, Grace professor and owner of Blue Note Design, who helped with some of the graphic design work on the signs.
“As we look to the future, we’re excited about continued partnership between the Lilly Center and the city of Warsaw, which is the city of lakes. Together, we can make Center and Pike lakes clean, healthy for today and for future generations,” Bosch concluded.
Warsaw Stormwater Utility serves the purpose of protecting the water quality within the city’s boundaries, implements measures to comply with state and federal permits, and works with other departments to maintain stormwater sewers and other infrastructure. For more information on the utility, visit the website at https://warsaw.in.gov/301/Stormwater-Utility.
The Lilly Center for Lakes & Streams at Grace College conducts research, provides resources, engages and educates residents, and collaborates with local organizations to make the lakes and streams of Kosciusko County clean, healthy, safe and beautiful. To date, the Lilly Center has conducted scientific research on over 30 streams and 45 lakes. For more information, visit lakes.grace.edu.