Water Resources
Indian Lake Water Resources Fact Sheet
| Lake Name: | Indian Lake |
| Formally Known as: | Lewistown Reservoir |
| Designed for: | Feeder lake for Miami-Erie Canal System |
| Constructed: | 1851 |
| Dedicated as State Park: | April 2, 1898 |
| Feeder Tributaries: | North Fork of Great Miami River
South Fork of Great Miami River
Blackhawk Run Creek
Van Horn Creek |
| Length of Tributaries: | 178 miles |
| Length of Shoreline: | 29 miles |
| Number of Islands: | 69 islands |
| Lake Center: | 40 28' 03" Latitude/ 83 54' 16" Longitude |
| Lake Pool: | 996.5 feet above sea level |
| Lake Water Depth: | Maximum 16 feet - average 6.6 feet |
| Storage Capacity: | 45,900 acre feet of water 14,955,597,000 gallons of water |
| Lake Use: | Recreation |
| Annual Visitors: | 1.5 million |
| Dam Type: | Dammed Permanent Impoundment installed by Irish Immigrants using hand labor, horses and carts with an original cost of $360,000 |
Groundwater Hydrology
Indian Lake is located on the northern end of the Great Miami Valley aquifer system. The
extensive groundwater aquifer system extends south from Indian Lake to Dayton, Ohio, and beyond
supplying groundwater needs for hundreds of thousands of people in this region. In southeast
Logan County, the buried valley aquifer is one to two-and-a-half miles in width and 70 to 230
feet in depth. The aquifer is sand and gravel with inter-bedded silt and clay and occasional
boulders. The significant source of recharge to the buried valley aquifer system is
infiltration from surface water bodies overlying the aquifer, suggesting Indian Lake may have
a recharge function in the system. No groundwater budget has been calculated for Indian Lake.
According to the groundwater resource maps from ODNR, Division of Water, wells in the watershed
area average five to 15 gallon per minute pumping rate. There are no irrigating systems in the
watershed or heavy manufacturing industry. The main water draw is private wells and
municipalities scattered throughout the watershed.
Surface Water
Runoff and sediment from residential development, construction sites and agricultural lands may
enter streams and lake in the watershed. Due to the large population centered around the
parameter of the lake, runoff may carry other pollutants such as lawn and agricultural chemicals
(pesticides and fertilizers), effluent from septic systems, oil and gas from spills as well as
industrial and commercial wastes. Biological monitoring in the Indian Lake Watershed by Ohio
EPA in 1988 indicated no tributary of the lake has fully attained warmwater habitat aquatic
life use designation based on fish and macroinvertebrate criteria. Non-attainment appears
related to agricultural land use activities resulted in habitat modification (channelization,
removal of riparian cover), abnormal flow fluctuations, excessive sedimentation, and nutrient
enrichment. Effects of these activities on animal and plant life were most apparent in the
North Fork of the Great Miami River, Blackhawk Run, and Van Horn Creek. Some areas on the
South Fork of the Great Miami River appear more stable due to perennial flow, recovered stream
channels and established riparian cover. However, some biological impairment was evident in
the Belle Center area due to failing domestic wastewater treatment systems. Ohio EPA continues
to retain the warmwater habitat aquatic life use designation for streams within the watershed
by assuming remediation including restoration of riparian cover and erosion control is feasible.
Surface water hydrology in the Indian Lake Watershed is separated into four sub-watersheds
ranging in size from 7,019 acres to 32,563 acres for planning purposes.
Streambanks
The watershed contains 178 miles of perennial and intermittent tributaries. Information
collected in the National Resource Inventory (NRI) by NRCS and data from Ohio Capability
Analysis Program (OCAP) estimated in 1990 that 45 percent of total soil erosion within the
watershed was due to gully erosion, of which a majority was streambank erosion. Streambank
erosion contributes the greatest impact due to high sedimentation delivery rates. Tributary
gradient is the lowest in the Van Horn Creek sub-watershed and greatest along the South Fork
of the Great Miami River with a comparable level of streambank erosion. Tributaries in Indian
Lake Watershed are frequently flooded. A primary concern with the high frequency of flooding
is streambank and corridor erosion that degrades water quality. Approximately 15 to 20 miles
of streams are in serious need of stabilization practices. This is not only an environmental
concern but also an economical concern from increased sediment. The loss of riparian corridor
land is economically and aesthetically expensive.
Lake Shoreline
Indian Lake has 29 miles of shoreline and 69 islands which also contribute to turbidity and
direct sedimentation of the lake. Shoreline erosion is created by boat activity and wave
action from wind. Of the 69 islands, ten are Dredge Material Relocation Areas which currently
do not have shoreline protection measures in place.
Approximately five to eight miles of shoreline are in need of erosion control and stabilization practices. Most of these
miles are on the east side of the lake where wind erosion is the worst. There are other areas around the lake which
currently have stabilization practices (rip rap/break walls) which are in need of maintenance.
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