The research found that healthy headwater systems consisting of
intermittent streams and ephemeral wetlands provide valuable habitat
particularly for amphibians. They provide the necessary aquatic/land life link.
Basin
Bites and Technical Tidbits
A Newsletter of the
St. Joseph River Basin Commission
Fourth Quarter—December 2003
Quarterly
Meeting Scheduled
2004 Quarterly Meetings
Strategic
Planning Session Scheduled
Small Streams and Wetlands--What Value are They Anyway
New
Flood Warning Tool
Floods--Fact or Fiction?
Proposed 2004 "Impaired Waters" List
The St. Joseph River Basin Commission meeting is scheduled for December
2, 2003. The meeting will be held at the Elkhart County Public
Services Building, 4230 Elkhart Road--Goshen, beginning at 10:00 a.m.
Election of 2004 Basin Commission officers will take place at this
meeting.
Indiana Drainage Laws will be the featured topic in a presentation by R. Gordon Lord, Legal Counsel for the Elkhart County Drainage Board.
March 2, 2004
June 1, 2004
September 14, 2004**
December 7, 2004
**This meeting will be conducted at the Elkhart County Administration Building, 117 No. Second Street, Goshen, IN. All other meetings are at the Elkhart County Public Services Building, 4230 Elkhart Road (U.S. 33), Goshen, IN. Meetings begin at 10:00 a.m.
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Strategic
Planning Session Scheduled
A strategic planning session for the St.
Joseph River Basin Commission is planned for February 12,
2004. Rory Robinson of the National
Park Service, who assisted in the initial planning process in 1997, will facilitate
the session.
Those participating in the planning strategies will review which of the
1997 goals have been met, why others were not, and finally chart a course for
the future of the St. Joseph River Basin Commission that falls within the
legislated purposes and by-laws.
The
Indiana General Assembly originally organized the St. Joseph River Basin
Commission in 1988 for the following purposes:
·
Provide a forum for discussion, study,
and evaluation of water resource issues of common concern in the Basin;
·
Facilitate and foster cooperative
planning and coordinated management of the Basin's water and related land
resources;
·
Develop positions on major water resource
issues and serve as an advocate of the Basin's interests before Congress and
federal, state, and local governmental agencies;
·
Make recommendations on matters related
to its functions and objectives, to political subdivisions in the Basin and to
other public and private agencies;
·
Publicize, advertise and distribute
reports on the Commission’s purposes, objectives, studies, and findings;
·
Develop plans to improve water quality in
the Basin;
·
When requested, make recommendations on
matters related to the Commission’s functions and objectives to political
subdivisions in the Basin and to other public and private agencies;
·
When requested, act as a coordinating
agency for programs and activities of other public and private agencies that are
related to the Commission’s objectives.
The
legislation further includes that the Basin Commission shall
Goals
identified at the February planning session will be presented to the full Basin
Commission at its March 2, 2004 meeting for approval.
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Small
Streams and Wetlands—What Value Are They Anyway?
Where Rivers Are Born: The
Scientific Imperative for Defending Small Streams and Wetlands is a
compilation of research focusing on the value of intermittent small headwater
streams and ephemeral wetlands.
An intermittent stream is that waterbody that does not flow
constantly. Similarly, an ephemeral wetlands, is a
depressional wetlands that temporarily holds water in the spring and early
summer. They are isolated, but may
overflow in times of high water. Intermittent
streams link upland streams with bottomland streams.
Ephemeral wetlands are usually linked to the hydrological system through
a groundwater interface.
The research states that 80 percent of the nation’s stream networks
consist of small or headwater streams. Some
of these streams are so small that they are not even noted on U.S. Geological
Survey quad maps.
Due
to their “smallness”, they are perceived as insignificant by many, and
thereby targeted for filling and tiling projects in order to convert the land to
other uses. However this research
shows evidence of their importance, warranting protection.
The research found that healthy headwater systems consisting of
intermittent streams and ephemeral wetlands provide valuable habitat
particularly for amphibians. They provide the necessary aquatic/land life link.
But it’s not just the frogs, mudpuppies and newts that benefit from
these resources. Small headwater
streams and ephemeral wetlands
Flood
control, habitat and species diversity, groundwater recharge, and natural
purification—valuable elements worth protecting.
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New
Flood Warning Tool Available for St. Joseph River Basin
Nearly 80 percent of all natural disasters
are a result of flooding. Although
these incidents can’t totally be controlled, new tools are available to help
plan for such flooding, and reduce the overall impact that high waters have on a
community or a region.
The
National Weather Service (NWS) has developed the Advanced Hydrologic
Predictions Services (AHPS). Using
a combination of historic data, Doppler radars, satellites, as well as automated
surface observing stations, the AHPS improves accuracy of predicting how high a
river may rise, when it will reach its peak, where flooding will occur, and how
long the flood will last. It also
has the ability to make long-range predictions.
The NWS is enhancing the forecasting even further, to predict drought
conditions, and how long such conditions might last.
The information is web-based and includes pictorial and graphical
presentation of the data, in addition to narrative information specific to
potential flood impacts. Each dot
on the map is linked to information specific to that site of the river system.
Who will benefit by this information?
The National Weather Service believes this information will provide a
wide range of people and agencies information necessary to take proactive
approaches to dealing with rising water associated with storms.
Emergency managers will be able to determine where personnel will
be needed to sandbag areas or plan evacuations.
Wastewater treatment personnel will be able to predict whether
their plants and storm sewers will be inundated by increased water.
Recreational users of waterways will know when waterways may be
too dangerous to enter. Operators
of hydroelectric dams will have a tool to more effectively generate power.
Farmers will be able to plan when irrigation will be needed due to
predicted drought conditions.
The NWS tools are available at the following website:
www.crh.noaa.gov/iwx.
Information specific to the St. Joseph River Basin—Lake Michigan Basin
can be found by double-clicking “Rivers & Lakes AHPS” under “Current
Conditions” on the left side of the screen.
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Test your flood knowledge.
A 100-year
flood is a climatic average where there is a 1 percent chance a 100-year
flood event (based on recorded flow information) will occur in any given year.
Fact.
Flash
floods occur only along flowing streams. Fiction.
Flash floods can occur in urban areas where no streams are
present.
Homeowners’
insurance does not cover flood damage. Fact.
Homeowners need to review homeowners insurance policies and
obtain flood hazard insurance if property is located in a flood-prone
area.
Two feet of rushing
water can carry away most vehicles including SUVs and pickup trucks.
Fact. Nearly
half of all flood fatalities are vehicle related.
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Indiana’s Impaired Waters List Posted
On October 1, 2003 the Indiana Department of
Environmental Management posted its proposed 2004 303d list of “impaired
waters”. Under the Federal Clean
Water Act Section #303d, states are required to assess its waters for compliance
with the State’s water quality standards, which are developed to protect
beneficial uses of the waters—fishing, swimming, drinking.
Indiana must submit its proposed list to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency by April 1, 2004.
IDEM will accept public comment related to the proposed list until
December 29, 2003. The list can be
reviewed at IDEM’s website
http://www.in.gov/idem/water/planbr/wqs/303d.html.
A number of St. Joseph River Basin (Indiana portion) waterbodies
previously included in the Category 5 of the Impaired Waters list, have been
moved to a Category 4B list. Under
current U.S. E.P.A. guidance, these waters were originally listed due to a Fish
Consumption Advisory related to PCB and/or Mercury.
Total Maximum Daily Loads for the fish consumption advisory contaminants
are not required for Category 4B, as other pollution controls are expected to
aid in the attainment of the water quality standard.
IDEM will continue to include waterbodies in the
Category 5 list, if these contaminants violate the water quality criteria in
the water column. The
May
Best Wishes for the Holiday Sprinkle Down Upon You and Peace Flow Into the New
Year!
Return to Meeting Agenda--December 2, 2003
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