Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Work has begun on a new levee at the south end of Little Chapman because the old levee has been considered hazardous for the last few years.
Chapman Lakes consists of two lakes, Big Chapman (512 acres) and Little Chapman (177 acres), and a 230-acre dedicated nature preserve. The lakes are just a few miles northeast of Warsaw and drainage from the area flows approximately four miles before it enters Pike Lake. From Pike Lake the drainage goes into the upper portion of the Tippecanoe River.
Construction of the new levee and earthen berm is designed to reinforce the old levee. Made of cellular concrete, the levee will be approximately 750 feet long and a little under 7 feet tall.
The project was awarded to HIS Constructors of Indianapolis for a price of a little more than half a million dollars. The job should be complete by Labor Day.
The old levee system is riddled with rodent burrows and has settled over the years. The animal burrows collapsed over the last few months. There are severe surface leaks on two sites.
According to Dan Lee, president of the Chapman Lakes Property Owners Association, if the present levee were to fail, the water level in Chapman Lakes could lower two to four feet over a short period of time.
The environmental damage, in addition to problems caused downstream, could be long term or permanent, resulting in the loss of valuable wetland and significant damage to a unique fishery.
The restoration project is being overseen by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and includes the addition of about 12 acres of wetlands.
The western berm will lie on the western property line and separate the surface water from public and private property.
The levee will have a core consisting of cellular concrete, while the berm will have a cellular concrete foundation 2 feet thick.
Cellular concrete for this project will have a density of about 40 pounds per cubic foot, significantly lighter than water, which weighs 62.4 pounds per cubic foot. Soils from the adjacent hill will be used to cover and ballast the two structures.
The final stage of the project includes breaching a small portion of the old levee to restore the wetlands area.
The construction site is closed to the public. Visitors must be accompanied by an official with advance notice. Boaters are being asked to avoid the levee area.
