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Lake Manitou WMP 5-72

Summary


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The Lake Manitou Watershed Management Plan (WMP) addresses nonpoint source pollution and other water quality concerns for a portion of the Tippecanoe watershed (HUC 05120106). Specifically, the Lake Manitou Rain Creek/Graham Ditch (HUC 05120106050020) subwatershed and the Robbin Taylor/Strebe Ditch (HUC 05120106050010) subwatershed located southeast of Rochester, Indiana. The main tributaries to Lake Manitou are Rain Creek and Graham Ditch with Whittenberger/Eiler Ditch, Mastellar Ditch, Weaver and Kitchen Ditch playing a lesser role. The Lake Manitou watershed encompasses approximately 27,700 acres located southeast of Rochester, Indiana in Fulton County and Miami County. This WMP documents the concerns stakeholders have as well as the vision they possess for the watershed area. The WMP describes the goals, strategies and necessary actions to achieve the vision to maintain and improve the watershed by monitoring land and water management practices while educating and informing the people within the watershed. Methods for measuring stakeholder progress are included in the plan.

The goals of the WMP include:

  1. produce educational brochures causing the stakeholders to become aware of lifestyles around the lake that impact the quality of the water,
  2. develop action plan to replace the Mt. Zion Dam, reducing the sediment coming from the pond into Lake Manitou,
  3. obtain grant money to hire biologist to study the effects of the 42 acre Eco-Zone established last year by the lake association,
  4. conduct a fifteen minute educational radio show one time per month on the idea of cleaner water in the watershed,
  5. stakeholders to write one article per month to be published in the local newspapers in Fulton and Miami Counties, and
  6. eradicate the invasive weed Hydrilla verticillata from Lake Manitou.

This plan is an early example of the watershed planning process. More work may be needed to provide for a comprehensive implementation plan for the Lake Manitou watershed, however, there is significant information from which to draft the details with any available new data incorporated.

The Complete Lake Manitou Watershed Management Plan