U.S. Water News Online
CEDAR LAKE, Ind. -- Restoration could begin soon on the ecosystem of a northwestern Indiana lake that has been polluted for decades with sewage and stormwater filled with fertilizer from farm fields.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is finishing a $600,000 study of possible ways to restore the ecosystem of Cedar Lake, which also has elevated levels of arsenic and lead.
Political and financial support is being lined up for the restoration, but a few obstacles still need to be overcome before work can begin.
Three of six preliminary alternatives involve dredging, which local residents also advocate. Another option is to add chemical treatment to the water, which binds some of the nutrients and forms a crust at the bottom of the lake. The Corps of Engineers is also considering setting up a temporary treatment plant to clean lakewater and send it back.
"We take a look at everything and what is most feasible and the best use of the government's money, and that's what we recommend," said Lynne Wheland, spokeswoman for the Army Corps.
U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., has proposed a bill providing $4.4 million for the restoration. It has passed the House and is awaiting action in the Senate, said Justin Kitsch, a spokesman for Visclosky.
The federal government provides 65 percent of the project cost, which some have put at $12 million. The rest has to be found elsewhere.
The study was originally supposed to be finished in 2007, but it was taking longer because the Corps is waiting for information from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the town of Cedar Lake, which surrounds the lake about 15 miles south of Gary.
Part of the delay is that the federal agency is waiting for information from IDEM on what restrictions it has to follow when dealing with the lead and arsenic, Army Corps project manager Mike Nguyen said. Another is the town has proposed its own sewage treatment plant, which would discharge effluent back into the lake, he said.
"Our concern was that (discharge) from the sewage treatment plant will have a negative impact on the ecosystem," he said.
The Town Council also is considering whether to spend $1.7 million on 114 acres of land as a disposal site for the dredged material.
Residents at newer nearby homes object. They worry the dredged material will affect the safety of their drinking water.
"Cedar Lake has other land available, land within their own town limits, why do they have to go out of their town limits and ruin the neighborhood we live in?" said Craig Flanders in an open letter to Visclosky.
Return to the U.S. Water News Archives page Or Return to the U.S. Water News Homepage
Editor@uswaternews.com
*Your Name:
*Your Email:
*Friend's Email:
Use a comma to separate e-mail addresses:
*Your Comments:
Hi, I thought you might like to read this article.
*Required Fields