The Boone and Clinton County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) received a grant from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife, through the LARE Program. The purpose of the grant was to assist the District in making a diagnosis of water quality problems wiithin the Upper Sugar Creek Watershed and to propose solutions to address any water quality issues found.
All available information on the watershed was assembled using both historical and current data. Data was also collected and used to help identify water quality problems which will help in working towards beneficial and economical solutions. Approximately 120,869 acres was studied. There were 15 sample locations. Aquatic communities (macroinvertebrates) were negatively impacted by excessive sediment inputs in some tributaries of Sugar Creek. Three tributary sub-watersheds (Browns Wonder Creek, Mallot Ditch, and Scott Wincoop ditch) were identified as the areas where water quality improvments could have the biggest positive impacts within the watershed. Future BMP's should concentrate on these areas and we would see almost an immediate 25 percent reduction in nutrient and suspended solid loading.
A total of four public meetings were held as part of the project to inform and discuss water quality issues and solutions for the watershed. The first meeting introduced the project to the public. The second meeting then introduced some of the potential Best Management Practices (BMPs) to reduce nonpoint source runoff. A third meeting was held in the field to demonstrate some of the BMPs already in place within the watershed. The final public meeting summarized the results and to plan for future implementation of practices to reduce nonpoint source pollution in the priority sub-watersheds. These include practices such as filter strips, cover crops, grassed waterways and nutrient management plans.
The Boone and Clinton County SWCDs were awarded a grant through the Clean Water Indiana program for Sugar Creek starting in 2013. This is a three-year grant to help with techinical assistance and provide some implementation funds to put Best Management Practices on the ground. Each county has sumbitted grants through the Lake and River Enhancement Program for the targeted sub watersheds for implentation funds.