|
|
Press Release Little Cicero Creek Watershed Management Plan A
New Year Means a Renewed Effort to Improve the Health of Little Cicero Creek Hamilton
County, IN, January, 2006: With
the start of a new year, the Little Cicero Creek Watershed Management Planning
Committee is moving forward with the development of a management plan for the
Little Cicero Creek watershed. Partnerships
forged in 2005 between the Indiana Department of Environmental Management
(IDEM), Hamilton County, other public and private institutions, and local
citizens, will ensure continued progress through 2006 and beyond.
The study and
design of the plan is partially funded by a Section 319 grant from IDEM to
address the classification of Little Cicero Creek as an “impaired waterway”.
An impaired waterway is one that does not meet Indiana's water quality
standards for designated uses or other natural resource goals, such as aquatic
life support, fish consumption or recreational use.
The impairment of Little Cicero Creek is likely the result of non-point
source pollution (NPS) originating from numerous diffuse sources, which send
pollutants through the watershed via overland flow, and ultimately into Little
Cicero Creek and its tributaries. Specific
sources of NPS include excessive use of fertilizers, herbicides, or insecticides
from agricultural lands or residential areas; oils, grease, and toxic chemicals
from urban runoff and energy production; sediment from improperly managed
construction sites, crop or forest lands, or eroding streambanks; salt from
irrigation practices and acid drainage from abandoned mines; and bacteria and
nutrients from livestock, pet wastes, and faulty septic systems. The
Planning Committee hosted its fourth steering committee meeting in November
2005, to further address water quality concerns and discuss anticipated
watershed impacts of development in Hamilton County. During
the November meeting, JFNew presented preliminary results of water quality
sampling required as part of this project.
A total of four sampling events were needed to create “snap shots” of
current water quality in the watershed.
Final results included two samples taken in base flow conditions and two
taken immediately after large rain events.
Samples were collected from eight locations throughout the watershed.
Upon preliminary review of the samples, it was found that higher
concentrations of pollutants were identified in the main channel of Little
Cicero Creek. This makes sense, as
Little Cicero collects water and pollutant loads from all the smaller
tributaries in the watershed. The
Fifth Steering Committee Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 9th,
at 1:30 pm in the Hamilton County Judicial Building room
1-A, in Noblesville. As
always, the general public is welcome. The
agenda of the next steering committee meeting will include the development of
the mission of this project, and the identification of goals and objectives.
In addition, the Planning Committee will discuss the relationship between
final sampling results and observations made during the October 2005 watershed
tour. For
more information about this project, schedules, or current updates, please visit
the project’s website at http://www.djcase.com/cicerocreek. For
questions regarding the project or participation, please contact Robert Thompson
at the Hamilton County Surveyor’s Office, at 317.776.8495.
Report on water quality resulting from runoff pollution
|
|
|
email us -
info@Morseh2o.org