Indian Lake Watershed Demographics
Rural
Agriculture production practices comprise 89 percent of the watershed. The Ohio EPA feasibility
study used 1980 census data which listed an average of 4.2 percent of the watershed population
were employed in agriculture. The percentage ranged from 1.8 percent in Washington Township to
11 percent in Richland Township. The average farm size is 245 acres. A more complete
inventory of the urban population needs to be completed. Parcel data which is complete for
Auglaize, approximately 50 percent complete for Logan and zero percent complete for Hardin,
would better identify the rural setting. By working with the 1990 census data and the three
county auditor offices, a more comprehensive picture of the rural/agricultural population and
the increasing rural/non-agricultural population could be determined.
Amish
There are 50 Amish families living within the Indian Lake Watershed. Twenty families are
full-time farmers and 30 are part-time farmers with other jobs off the farm. On average, two
families live on one farm consisting of 100 acres per farm. The Amish using horse drawn
implements farm on a four to five year crop rotation of corn and small grain, followed by
forages for two to three years. Presently, the Amish do not use no-till cropping practices.
They use a conventional tillage system, but only 20 to 25 percent of the farms are plowed each
spring after an application of manure. All Best Management Practices (BMPS) designed for the
Amish agricultural producers are similar to other agricultural producers except conservation
tillage.
Urban
The largest area of urban land (845 acres) occurs in the South Fork sub-watershed containing
the towns of Belle Center, Yelverton, New Richland, and Northwood. The cities of Lakeview and
Russell's Point adjacent to the Van Horn/Blackhawk sub-watershed comprise the next largest area
(626 acres) of urban land. The city of Russell's Point encompasses many residences on islands.
The resident population of Indian Lake, defined as the combined 1980 populations (Ohio EPA data
for 1990 and 2000) of the townships bordering the lake, is 8,944. The villages of Russell's
Point and Lakeview, although outside the Indian Lake watershed, border the lake and together
comprise approximately 25 percent of the lake resident population. Although a net population
loss is projected for Logan County through the year 2010 (Ohio Pop. 1985), the resident
population of Indian Lake is expected to increase. According to U.S. Census data from 1980 to
1990, Russell's Point has increased population by 30.1 percent and Lakeview has decreased by
three percent. No data was available for the lake area residents with a Huntsville or Chippewa
address. Local officials and state park employees note a steady increase in use of the lake by
non-residents in recent years. This trend is likely to attract more development and service
businesses to the area. Manufacturing of durable goods is generally the largest employer of
Indian Lake's resident work force. Year-round lake residents are the population segment most
adversely affected by the lake's water quality degradation. Despite the current influx of park
visitors, continued siltation of the Indian Lake will eventually lead to a decline in tourism.
Continued siltation will further impede boater access to parts of the lake and increase boat
groundings. High turbidity and loss of deep water habitat has altered the lake's game fishery
community (ODNR, unpublished data). Continued loss of deep water fish habitat will jeopardize
Indian Lake's reputation as a major sport fishery. A decrease of fishing and boating would
have a negative effect on the lake economy.
Waste Water Treatment
The Indian Lake Water Pollution Control District provides sanitary sewage treatment for most of
the area surrounding Indian Lake, including Russell's Point and Lakeview. The Waste Water
Treatment Plant, located in Russell's Point, was designed to accommodate 2.3 million gallons a
day (mgd) at normal capacity and 4.6 mgd at peak capacity. The current inflow is 1.5
mgd.
There is available capacity and growth potential at the plant for future development. The
majority of the residential areas surrounding Indian Lake are connected into the sanitary sewer
system. The Indian Lake Water Pollution Control District has improved the waste water management
system around the lake area. There remains a small percentage of individual cases which need
connected into the system. One area of concern is abandoned septic tanks and systems. More
information and research is needed to determine if the abandoned systems pose environmentally
degrading threat to the Indian Lake water quality. An area of large concern is the function
condition of the waste water treatment plants located in the towns and villages in the watershed.
More research and inventory of these systems, as well as those of private septic tanks and
leach beds, needs to be conducted.
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