It’s been nearly two years since efforts began to secure funding for the
Deep River-Portage Burns Waterway Watershed Initiative, spearheaded by the
Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC).
Now NIRPC has received word from the Indiana Department of Environmental
Management (IDEM) that its Section 319 grant application has been selected
for funding by IDEM and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, NIRPC said
in a statement released last week.
Covering nearly 180 square miles of mixed-use land in North Central Lake and
Porter Counties, the Deep River-Portage Burns Waterway watershed is the
largest watershed in Northwest Indiana’s Lake Michigan drainage area, with
such major tributaries as Deep River, Turkey Creek, Main Beaver Dam Ditch,
and a portion of the West Branch of the Little Calumet River.
“IDEM has identified approximately 125 miles of stream in the watershed that
are considered impaired,” NIRPC said. “Some of the known water quality
issues are E. coli, siltation, low dissolved oxygen levels and impaired
biotic communities. Impaired biotic communities is the by far the most
prevalent issue.”
“Biological impairments differ from some of the traditional water quality
issues we are more familiar with like E. coli,” said Joe Exl, senior water
resource planner with NIRPC. “Multiple stressors such as habitat
destruction, flow alteration, and excess sediment and nutrient inputs from
surrounding land uses can all be factors impacting the types and numbers of
fish and aquatic insects being observed or not observed in our streams.”
As part of this collaborative effort, IDEM initiated an intensive one-year
water quality study this spring to assist in the watershed plan’s
development. IDEM is assessing water chemistry, habitat and biological
communities at 35 different sites strategically located throughout the
watershed, and will use the information collected along with stakeholder
input to develop a Total Maximum Daily Load report which will be
incorporated into the watershed management plan.
“I was definitely very excited when IDEM informed us that they had selected
our watershed for this pilot project,” Exl said. “The resources that the
state is putting into these water quality surveys far exceeds what we would
have been able to accomplish locally. We’re certainly very grateful.”