Donations, Grant Paying For Dredging At Chapman Lake
Posted
Tim Robertson-trobertson@timesuniononline.com
A major dredging project is underway at Chapman Lakes. The $130,000 project is funded by the Chapman Lakes Conservation Association and the Chapman Lakes Foundation. Dan Lee, Warsaw, a former CLCA board member was involved in the planning for the project. Lee said the CLCA obtained a $88,000 grant from the Indiana Lake and River Enhancement Fund for the project. The balance of funds for the dredging, Lee said, came from donations to the CLCA and CLF.The goal of the project is to dredge a large amount of sediment from three major drains, Crooked Creek, Arrowhead Drain and Highland Drain, which feed into the two lakes. Lee said the dredging contractor also will dredge several channels along the lakes, but those projects will be funded only by the property owners along those channels.
"The dredging is the culmination of about six or seven years of enhancements and improvement projects that have been carried out," Lee said.
He said some of the enhancements include measures to reduce the amount of sediment, or soil from the area surrounding the lake, that reaches the lake when water drains toward the lake during rain storms. Sediment carries with it pollutants and nutrients like phosphorous which damage the lake's ecosystem by encouraging the rapid growth of some invasive species of aquatic plants or weeds.
Large amounts of sediment will be removed from the mouths of the drains by a process called hydraulic dredging. At the mouth of Crooked Creek, in Big Chapman Lake, an island which has formed from sediment buildup will be removed.
Lee said only sediment will be removed from the lake during the dredging, not material from the original lake bottom. Weather plays a role in the pace of the project. Lee said he estimates the project will be complete by mid-November.
