Our mission:
To improve water quality through increased public awareness of non-point pollution sources such as E. coli and sedimentation within the Big Blue River watershed.
Steering Committee members:
Matt Chapman
Paul Gona
Randy Jones
Dave Lee
Bob Mueller, Jr., Water quality coordinator
Jeff Ray, Committee chair
Kathy Rogers
Terroll Snavely
Ben Thornsberry
Lee Ann Wallen, Recorder
John Waterman
Tony Wright
BIG BLUE RIVER WATERSHED STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING
Our next meeting will be held
Tuesday, September 7, 2010 at 6:30pm, New Castle Public Library, A & B Room
The public is always welcome to attend.
"Any river is really a summation of the whole valley. To think of it as nothing but water is to ignore the greater part." - Hal Borland
LINKS OF INTEREST:
http://www.wfyi.org/dropbydrop.asp A wonderful documentary on the condition of the state's water.
Redbud Farm, LLC is a local farm and is located in the Big Blue River watershed! Check them out at http://www.redbudllamas.com/
What is a Watershed? produced by US EPA and The Weather Channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUYWb8XTo58
The "watershed" term is used in many different ways. To find out more about watersheds according to natural resources, take a look at: www.in.gov/idem/nps/
Living Lands & Waters: www.livinglandsandwaters.org
"Liquid Assets: The story of our water infrastructure": http://liquidassets.psu.edu/
Friends of the Big Blue River of Henry County:
The Nature Conservancy: www.nature.org/river
What to do with unused or expired medications: www.in.gov/recycle/6141.htm
September 7 - Steering Committee meeting, 6:30pm - 8 or 8:30pm (time & place to be announced)
September 10 - 7am til 3pm Henry Co. United Fund's Day of Caring - Join us in helping to improve our community in various volunteer efforts
September 24 - Cover crop field day with Henry County Natural Resources Conservation Service and Soil & Water Conservation District. Sponsored by Crop Production Services and Henry Co. SWCD.
River clean-ups - The river has been turbid, high and flowing quickly. Safety is our number one priority. When our river "scouts" give us the "GO", we'll let you know the next clean-up date, time and location
Feel free to give Elisa a call at (765) 529-2303 ext. 115 or e-mail her at elisa.grafford@in.nacdnet.net about any of the events, or questions about anything concerning the project.
Big Blue River Watershed Facts:
Size of the watershed: 125,753 acres
Watershed covers 4 counties: Henry, Rush, Hancock and Shelby
Acres of watershed in Henry County: 103,460 acres
Located at the headwaters of the larger Driftwood watershed
75% of the land use in the watershed is agriculture
2% of the land cover is in wetlands
Towns within the boundary of the watershed: Mount Summit, Cadiz, Kennard, New Castle, Knightstown, Carthage, Mooreland, Hillsboro, Dunreith, Spiceland, Greensboro, Mount Lawn, Westwood
Four major tributaries feed the Big Blue River: Little Blue River, Montgomery Creek, Buck Creek and Duck Creek
What is a watershed?
A watershed is an area of land delineated topographically that catches precipitation (rain, snow, ice, etc.) that drains or seeps into the soil gradually reaching a creek, river or larger body of water.
What's happening now
We are in the last stretch of writing and developing the Big Blue River Watershed Management Plan. The grant ends January 2011. The plan was intended to present background information and the current condition of the watershed to the people that live, work, and recreate within its boundaries.
During the second phase of planning, we drove the watershed to inventory and document land activities that were occuring at the moment and activities that may occur in the future. These activities would have impacts on the water quality or quantity available to citizens for use.
In the picture below, active soil erosion is occurring in a field near Summit Lake State Park in the upper reaches of the watershed.
Note that there is no vegetative cover to hold the soil or rain water in place. After this significant rainfall event in mid-May 2009, there was a mass movement of soil, fertilizers and/or herbicides from this field into the neighbor's field downstream.
A cover crop, vegetative buffer or grassed waterway would help hold most of the soil in place, as well as increase the infiltration of rain into the soil.
(Surface and gully erosion in a row crop field on 600 N - photo by: E Grafford 05/14/09)
The pictures below show timber harvesting for veneer in Carthage, which is located in the lower reaches of the Big Blue River Watershed. Timber harvesting, or logging, is an agricultural industry and, when done correctly, can improve the health of a forest.
However, the activities that occurred in Carthage were located in the floodplain of the Big Blue River. Removing the trees exposed the soil which will increase the amount of rainfall and sediment that will enter the river. If there is a significant rain event, and no vegetative cover to hold the soil in place, a massive movement of soil may occur, filling the river bed with sediment and other pollutants.
Applying best management practices to logging sites in Indiana is voluntary.
Logging adjacent to Goose Creek (photo by E Grafford 06/03/09) (photo by E Grafford 07/23/09)
Why are these activities significant? How are they monitored?
Erosion is the detachment and movement of soil or rock by water, wind or gravity. It is the major cause of pollution in the United States. One of the goals of the Big Blue River Watershed Management Plan is to address accelerated erosion. Accelerated erosion is caused by human activities or extreme weather events. Every living organism depends on soil and water for sustaining life, therefore, it is important that we protect these vital natural resources.
Fertilizers, minerals and other pollutants attach to soil particles. When erosion occurs, soil becomes sediment when it detaches from its site and deposits into a nearby ditch, creek or river carrying with it any pollutants.
Sediment loads can displace water in reservoirs, lakes and ponds decreasing water storage and destroy fish habitat. The pollutants attached to soil particles dissolve, and in large amounts, impair creeks and rivers.
(Tony Wright water testing on the Big Blue River at Carthage - photo by E Grafford 09/24/09)
Local volunteers monitor the chemical, physical and biological parameters of the Big Blue River and its tributaries (Little Blue River, Duck Creek, Buck Creek, and Montgomery Creek).
The chemical assessments we measure are dissolved oxygen, BOD (biological oxygen demand), pH, orthophosphate, nitrate, nitrite and turbidity. These are monitored every other month April through October, which are the months that the most people recreate. E.coli is tested every month April through October. The physical assessments we monitor are habitat and streamflow which are measured in the spring and the fall. Biological assessments are done once a year. These assessments measure the benthic, or bottom-dwelling, invertebrates that live in the stream. Collectively, these assessments give us a picture of the health of the stream.
We have recorded our results in the Hoosier Riverwatch database and they are available for viewing at: www.HoosierRiverwatch.com.
How you can get involved
Become an active member at our Steering Committee meetings. They are held the 1st Tuesday of every month. (Time & place will be announced)
- Help us in achieving our mission to increase public awareness and ultimately improving the health of the Big Blue River watershed.
Sign up to receive the Big Blue News newsletter
- The newsletter shares events that are happening in the watershed and other interesting short articles that relate to improving the health of the watershed.
- To receive Big Blue News, contact Elisa to be added tof the mailing list. (E-mail or through the US Postal Service)
Become a volunteer
- Help us and Friends of the Big Blue River keep the river litter-free. Friends organizes River Clean-up days during the spring and summer months.
- There will be opportunities in the future for becoming a Certified Volunteer Water Quality Monitor through Indiana's Hoosier Riverwatch program! A member of the Hoosier Riverwatch team will be available to train those who are interested in water monitoring. Be watching for the date in the near future! The workshop is FREE!!
(photo by K Harding 12/09/08)
Our first Big Blue River Watershed public meeting was held December 9, 2008 at the beautiful Westwood Park in New Castle.
History
For the past 10 years, the Big Blue River has been placed on Indiana's 303(d) list of impaired waters for E.coli. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires each state to submit water quality reports every two years for waters that will not or are not expected to meet water quality standards.
In 2007, the Henry County Soil & Water Conservation District applied for a 319 grant that supplies funds from the USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) Clean Water Act to address non-point source pollution. Non-point source pollution is pollution that is associated with land uses such as grazing, golf courses, forest management and agriculture. This kind of pollution is difficult to trace back to the source. Point source pollution on the other hand is discharged through a pipe or ditch from an industry or municipality and is regulated by Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM).
As a result of the 319 grant, a Watershed Coordinator was hired in October 2008 to develop a watershed management plan addressing the pollution problems in the Big Blue River. Elisa Grafford is from Alton, Illinois. She graduated in December 2003 with a bachelor degree in forestry from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. As part of her 2-year master's project, she wrote a watershed management plan with agricultural stakeholders from the Rayse Creek Watershed in southern Illinois addressing sediment and phosphorus issues.
For more information
Please feel free to talk to
Elisa Grafford
Big Blue River Watershed Coordinator
Office number is (765) 529-2303 ext 115
E-mail: elisa.grafford@in.nacdnet.net
If you would like to visit, her office is located in the same office as the Henry County SWCD at 146 E County Road 200 North in New Castle.
updated: 08/25/2010
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