WINONA LAKE – Plans to dredge the northern channel of Winona Lake were discussed at the annual meeting of the Winona Lake Preservation Association Tuesday.
Ginger Carboneau said the association was denied a grant this year, but she is confident about next year’s prospects.
“We’ve got a lot of positive feedback from the government,” she said.
Dredging the sediment is needed to stop the erosion of shoreline that is caused by the organic material that flows in the lake.
A resident asked about putting rocks around the area of the fairgrounds to help stop erosion.
Carboneau said they don’t get much cooperation from the fairgrounds, but she said not everything is the fairground’s fault.
Carboneau said they don’t get much cooperation from the fairgrounds, but she said not everything is the fairground’s fault.
“If we had a grant and a plan, they would probably let us do it,” she said.
Lyn Crighton, executive director of The Watershed Foundation, talked how the conservation groups in the county work together to protect the lakes.
Lyn Crighton, executive director of The Watershed Foundation, talked how the conservation groups in the county work together to protect the lakes.
On Thursday, she will hold a workshop at Center Lake Pavilion so property owners can learn how to apply for grants to protect their seawalls. The grants will provide up to $1,000 to homeowners for shoreline projects. The project must be on Pike, Center, Winona or Chapman lakes and the homeowner will pay 25 percent of the project. People who attend the workshop will get priority for the grants.
A conversation officer with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources will be there to help residents ensure they are keeping with the regulations, Crighton said.
Dr. Nate Bosch, director of the Lilly Center for Lakes and Streams at Grace College, presented the history of the Winona Lake.
Bosch said the dead algae and weeds are cutting off the oxygen from the lake. Currently, fish can only live in the top 18 percent of the lake, he said. This is much lower than it has been in the past.
Bosch and Crighton discussed ways people can help protect the lake and the shorelines.
Crighton mentioned a new campaign from the foundation to get people to pledge to make safer choices for water quality. A large part of the campaign focuses on educating people to not feed waterfowl. Feeding the animals can be damaging to them and the lake, Crighton said.
Crighton mentioned a new campaign from the foundation to get people to pledge to make safer choices for water quality. A large part of the campaign focuses on educating people to not feed waterfowl. Feeding the animals can be damaging to them and the lake, Crighton said.
She asked people to go on the foundation’s website and take one of the pledges.
She said taking care of the lakes is everyone’s responsibility.
Art Gakstatter announced plans for the 2017 Winona Lake Flotilla. The event will be June 30. People will decorate their boats to support the event, which starts at 8 p.m. This year’s theme is “superheroes.”
