The Lake Monroe watershed, for which no comprehensive management plan exists, will soon be addressed by Friends of Lake Monroe.
The organization has received a grant of federal funding through the state to develop a management plan for the lake and watershed and to hire a coordinator to oversee work on the plan.
To identify as many concerns related to the lake’s watershed as possible, Friends of Lake Monroe, together with the Leagues of Women Voters of Brown County and Bloomington-Monroe County, will conduct A Community Forum on Lake Monroe from 6:45 to 8:30 p.m. Jan. 16 at the Brown County Public Library, 205 Locust Lane, Nashville. Anyone with an interest in issues relating to Lake Monroe is welcome to participate.
With the assistance of other organizations, including the O’Neil School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, Friends of Lake Monroe will collect data and solicit input from a wide variety of stakeholders who have concerns about the lake to obtain information that will serve as a basis for the plan.
The focus of the project will be to obtain data and develop a watershed plan to reduce nonpoint sources of sediments and nutrients in the watershed that cause algal blooms and excessive macrophyte growth in Lake Monroe, as well as to identify and eliminate sources of E. coli in the watershed and to increase dissolved oxygen levels and restore biological communities in streams that are impaired.
The watershed for the lake spans at least 415 square miles and includes land in Jackson, Monroe, Brown, Lawrence and Bartholomew counties.
Because of its size, location and varying purposes, the watershed falls under the jurisdiction of many organizations, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Indiana Department of Environmental Management, U.S. Forest Service, Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the counties in which it is located.
Built in 1964 by the corps, the lake was intended to be used for flood control, water supply and flow augmentation for downstream waters. It is the only source of drinking water for more than 140,000 people, including residents of Monroe, Brown and Lawrence counties and Indiana University.
In each of the last seven years in which samples of lake water were taken, IDEM has reported elevated levels of harmful algal blooms, leading to the issuance of low-level recreational advisories. Urban and agricultural runoff, shoreline and stream bank erosion and in-lake uses contribute to the growth of these algal blooms.
Past studies, the most recent one having been conducted in 1997, have identified the need for a comprehensive management plan for the lake’s watershed. The plan to be developed will serve as a guiding document to help address land use concerns and coordinate landowner/user education initiatives in the watershed in order to achieve and maintain optimal conditions in the lake.
Friends President Sherry Mitchell-Bruker will open the meeting by briefly describing how the watershed management plan will be developed and what it might mean for the lake. She will take questions for about 10 minutes, and then attendees will meet in smaller groups so as many concerns as possible can be voiced.
All comments will be recorded by facilitators for the groups and reported back to the participants when they reassemble after about 30 minutes.
The forum is open to the public, but registration for the event is appreciated via the link on the League of Women Voters Brown County website, lwvbrowncounty.org.
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What: A Community Forum on Lake Monroe
When: 6:45 to 8:30 p.m. Jan. 16
Where: Brown County Public Library, 205 Locust Lane, Nashville
Who: Anyone with an interest in issues relating to Lake Monroe is welcome to participate
Purpose: To identify as many concerns related to the lake’s watershed as possible
Information: Email [email protected]
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