Sediment Reduction Summary

Sedimentation Reduction Summary
Sedimentation in Indian Lake has been economically reduced since the project's conception. Over 510,000 tons of soil have been saved through USDA cost-share, long-term agreements and ten year CRP contracts. BMPs installed have reduced soil erosion economically at an estimated $1.20/ton for the five year accumulative soil loss. Additional economic benefits and costs not figured into the cost of erosion include higher agricultural production, less nutrient loss, cost of flooding, impaired drainage pathways and improved streams, fisheries and aesthetic conditions. Sedimentation of Indian Lake is reduced by one ton for every five tons of soil saved with the installation of BMPs within the watershed. In addition, over 300,000 tons of soil erosion has been reduced through the adoption of no-till and conservation tillage practices by landowners not participating in watershed programs. (Estimated from the annual tillage transect data.)

Estimated Soil Loss Savings Data

Conservation Practices	1991 Unit t/a/y	1992 Unit t/a/y	1993 Unit t/a/y	1994 Unit t/a/y	1995 Unit t/a/y	Totals
Grass Water Ways (Acres) **	10 2,052	15 3,000	40 7,960	61 12,140	63 12,540	37,692
Grade Stabilization (Number)	12 180	15 225	23 345	33 495	36 540	1,785
Filter Strip (Acres)	11 11	94 94	173 174	227 228	255 255	762
Critical Seeding (Acres) **	3 300	3 300	3 300	4 400	4 400	1,700
Tree Plantings (Acres)	17 85	17 85	17 85	17 85	17 85	425
CRP (Acres)	194 2,328	1,626 19,512	1,626 19,512	7,650 91,800	7,650 91,800	224,952
Conservation Tillage Practices (Acres)	7,391 29,564	10,766 43,064	11,843 47,372	14,181 56,724	15,034 60,136	236,860
Streambank Stabilization (Feet)	-	-	-	580 1,000	580 1,000	2,000
Totals	34,520	66,280	75,748	162,872	166,756	506,176

* Results are in units ofpractice and soil saved in tons/acre/year (t/a/y)
** Gully erosion

Dredging Cost
Dredging of State Park waterways is managed by ODNR, Division of Parks and Recreation, using the guidelines concerning navigable waters. ODNR has spent over $343,000 per year on waterway improvements at the lake. The dredging operation has removed approximately 1,000,000 tons of dredge material between 1990 and 1994. The cost of the dredging is continually increasing. Several factors influencing future dredging operation are deposit site location and equipment replacement issues. The number of economical and suitable dredge deposit locations are disappearing. The current dredge was dry docked in the winter of 1995 for major repairs but the equipment is simply worn out and needs to be replaced by a more efficient model.

The current presidential administration recognizes dredging of America's waterways is a vital process in the nation's economy, defense and environment. It also realizes dredging is not an efficient process, but is a necessary one. In 1993, the Interagency Working Group on the Dredging Process was formed and assigned to study the current dredging process in the United States and report on ways to improve the dredging and maintenance operations to the Secretary of Transportation. After studying the situation, the group announced a new dredging policy with several new principles encouraging dredged material management being conducted on a regional basis by a partnership of federal, state and local governments, natural resource agencies, public interest groups, the maritime industry and private citizens. The principles also state more involvement in watershed planning is needed, recognizing contribution from upstream sources of pollution to sediment contamination in the waterways.

Indian Lake has been working on similar ideas. The concept of keeping the soil on the farm land has always been a major goal. Implementation of the BMPs within the watershed should help reduce the amount of dredging needed in the future. Comparing the cost of the dredging operation to the cost of implementing BMPs is unrealistic because there are too many other costs and benefits not calculated into the figures. Dredging is a band-aid approach to fixing a problem, but not the solution. The solution is to keep soil on the fields and streambanks and out of the water ways.

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