The Army Corps of Engineers is working with a contractor to update the master plans for each of the lakes in Indiana. The plans provide an overview for how each lake should be managed. Â The Army Corps started with Lake Monroe.
The finished document looks at everything from how recreation trends are shifting because of the state's aging population to how many gallons of water the lake could provide each day.
The lake was built in the 1960s to control flooding in the Salt Creek Valley and along the Ohio River. But a lot has changed since then.
"What was written in 1967 really doesn't apply to today's world so we just needed something a little more current," says Shannon Phelps, Natural Resource Park Manager for the Monroe Lake Louisville District Army Corps of Engineers.
The Master Plan is a document that guides how the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages and conserves the lake's resources. This is the first time it's been updated in 50 years.
Read The Lake Monroe Master Plan
The updated plan has 5 objectives:
- Flood control.
- Water resource.
- Provide low water augmentation to Salt Creek drainage area.
- Recreational use of land and water.
- Protect and preserve natural resources and habitats.
Recreation On Lake Monroe
The lake draws about a million visitors each year.
Craig Smith has been boating with his family on Lake Monroe since the mid-1980s. He owns a house boat that he keeps at the Four Winds marina.
"When we get off work on Thursday, we'll pack up and come out here with the family we'll enjoy the day at the lake," Smith says. "We'll do some jet skiing, skiing, and we have a little canoe thing over there to go up and down the lake and we'll take this out every once in a while. It's just a lifestyle."
Besides his obvious interest in recreation, there are other aspects of the recently-updated Lake Monroe Master Plan on Smith's radar.
"Keeping the lake at a safe level is critical so letting the water out of the dam is important, making sure they don't let too much out, and making sure it doesn't overflow," he says.
Smith also worries about invasive species.
"The biggest fear is Asian Carp," Smith says. "They can jump in the air and hurt people. And that's a fear."
Water Quality In Lake Monroe
Smith lives just five miles from the lake in Bloomington. That means he, just like all city residents, rely on the lake for drinking water.
"I would like to see a much greater emphasis on the lake as a water supply. It seems like the emphasis is really on recreation."
"Under the clean water act we're obligated to provide the water storage, flood control, with flood control being the most important," Phelps says. "And that is how we prioritized. After that we had the water supply for the city of Bloomington and the other four or five entities that are drawing water from the reservoir. After that you can pretty well put recreation and the other resource goals we have."
The report acknowledges that there is frequently conflict among these objectives because so many different people have an interest in the lake.
"I would like to see a much greater emphasis on the lake as a water supply," says Monroe County Councilor Geoff McKim. " It seems like the emphasis is really on recreation."
The city of Bloomington withdraws an average of 15 million gallons per day from Lake Monroe. Eagle Pointe Golf Resort, Indianapolis Power and Light, and Salt Creek Services have contracts to withdraw water too, but it's a much smaller amount.
The current Master Plan says, "The State of Indiana reserves the right to withdraw more water in the future."
That's different than what was in the draft plan released late last year. It said, "Indianapolis reserves the right to withdraw water in the future but currently doesn't do so."
McKim took issue with that during one of the public comment meetings and now the revision makes it clear that authority rests with the state.
Phelps says that line was a major sticking point for people during the public comment meetings.
"They were worried that we were going to give all of the water to Indianapolis and the local people wouldn't have any water," Phelps says. "The truth of the matter is they have never shown any interest in drawing water from the reservoir and we would have to agree to their request before that withdraw and it would also have to fit all of our other management goals for the resources for clean water."
The lake is the largest water source in the state and the Master Plan says it's is capable of providing water up to 130 million gallons per day to the State of Indiana.
But the plan doesn't focus on the quality of that water, which has been an issue with high levels of Disinfectant By-Products in the city's drinking water.
The Army Corps says that doesn't fall under its purview. The report states the responsibility for water quality regulation falls to the municipalities that actually draw the water, treat the water and give it to residents.
City of Bloomington Utilities Director Vic Kelson says his office sends water quality reports to their customers and responds quickly to any questions about water quality.
"We're always working to improve water quality, and lately we've been working hardest on the disinfection by-product problem," says Kelson.
Kelson says he's glanced at the Master Plan a little bit, but hasn't had time to really dig into it yet.
"People kind of got that idea that things are going to change and they're really not."
"Although I don't think this Master Plan does any harm, it's not regulatory, I feel like it's kind of a missed opportunity for a community conversation about water and Monroe County/Bloomington's dependence on the water of Lake Monroe and some of the issues of clean water," McKim says. "This could have been an opportunity for elected officials and community to have more of a dialogue with the USACE.
And critics are asking why the Army Corps didn't consider some of the issues that do fall under the agency's purview, such as recreation or erosion and the impact they might be having on the quality of water.
"It's just an overview," Phelps says. "It's not the end all, be all of what's going to happen on the lake. And people kind of got that idea that things are going to change and they're really not."
The Army Corps is working with the same contractor to update the master plans at all the state's lakes, and Phelps says they're learning as they go.
The plan in progress now is for Raccoon Lake. Phelps says the initial public comment period will be longer and after the draft document is released there will be a second public comment period to gather additional feedback.
