Published: August 20, 2008 10:55 am         

Project targets Eel River

Manchester College leads $1 million effort to improve water quality along 30-mile stretch

MANCHESTER — The Eel River will soon be getting a little help from its friends.

A coalition made up of Manchester College, conservation agencies and at least 17 other groups recently announced that it will embark on a $1 million initiative to improve the water quality on a 30-mile stretch of the Eel River.

The Middle Eel River Watershed Initiative received nearly $600,000 in Clean Water Act funds designated by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. An additional $400,000 in contributions will come from agencies, schools, organizations, businesses and individuals.

“Our goal is to make the Eel River a better place for aquatic life and people,” said Manchester College scientist Jerry Sweeten, who wrote the grant request and has done considerable research on nonpoint source pollution and flow of the Eel River, particularly as it affects smallmouth bass. “It’s a tremendous natural resource that’s been neglected for many years.”

The 110-mile river traverses northern Indiana cornfields, woods and small communities in six counties, from western Allen County, through Whitley, Kosciusko, Wabash, Miami and Cass counties. It was once one of the outstanding fishing streams in the Midwest.

Today, water quality and numerous old grist mill dams impair fish and aquatic life, as well as recreational opportunities. The river is on the Environmental Protection Agency’s “impaired” list for its excessive levels of e-coli, PCBs, mercury and other pollution.

“We’ll work on this together, to find solutions together, with money to do it,” Sweeten said in a news release from the college.

The grant will fund a watershed management plan; identification and remediation of high priority nonpoint source pollution sites; scientific monitoring of flow, pollutants and aquatic organisms; and public outreach, said Sweeten.

The project focuses on the middle third of the Eel River, about 30 miles between North Manchester and Mexico, Ind. That watershed encompasses about 300 square miles.

College scientists and student researchers will do the monitoring, with county agricultural agencies fostering rapport with farmers, agri-businesses and others in the watershed. Area environmental groups, schools, clubs and organizations are expected to provide scores of volunteers.

“We all live in a watershed,” Jan Stout, program director for the Miami County Soil and Water Conservation District, said in a press release. “What we do in the watershed affects not only ourselves, but others who live downstream.”

Cass County contains 14 miles of the Eel River starting just east of Hoover and ending where it joins the Wabash River in downtown Logansport. Judy Buttice of the Cass County Soil and Water Conservation District said the county she represents would certainly reap benefits from the initiative.

“In the future, if we keep polluting our rivers, one day we’re going to be at a point where we’re not able to clean them,” Buttice said.

Logansport residents get their drinking water from the Eel River after it’s treated. Knowing that sediment buildup is a major contributor to water pollution, Cass County has also been making strides to improve the river’s water quality.

Earlier this year, six landowners in the Tick Creek watershed received more than in $20,000 in grant money to implement land management tactics aimed at keeping top soil out of waterways.

“We are working on it,” Buttice said.

A main source of pollution is the fertilizer used on farm fields. Fertilizer attaches to soil particles, which get washed into waterways through erosion. The particles dissolve, but the fertilizer remains and enters the food chain through plants and insects, which are consumed by larger organisms, such as fish and even humans, Buttice said.

Manchester College sought funding with early partnership commitments of soil and water conservation districts in Wabash and Miami counties, Waterborne Environmental Inc., Friends of Miami County’s Bridges, Stockdale Mill Foundation and the North Manchester Historical Society. At least a dozen other organizations and agencies also have pledged cash, volunteers, equipment and technical assistance.

While these organizations will contribute almost $400,000 in matching funds, labor, research and equipment, the initiative expects, through wide-reaching education and outreach, to ignite commitment from scores of area residents — boaters, youth groups, anglers, farmers, businesses, environmental and conservation groups and others. Sweeten already is seeking additional grants and partnerships to extend the life and scope of the Initiative.

The first step is forming a steering committee of scientists, area agency officials, farmers and key environmentalists. The committee will hire a watershed coordinator this fall. Stream monitoring will begin in January, as will public meetings on the four-year initiative.

Kevin Lilly can be reached at (574) 732-5117, or via e-mail at kevin.lilly@pharostribune.com