RIDINGER LAKE NEWS
Welcome to summer of 2010 at Ridinger Lake. It is good to feel sunshine again and be in the water whether it is in a boat or splashing around. We have another summer full of activities lined up for the lake association. There will be a schedule of events listed at the end for you to keep handy. First I will wrap up a couple of items from last year, the dredging project along Elder ditch and information on flooding.
At the fall meeting we discussed the flooding events we have experienced in recent years. Through talking with lake residents, four things were brought forward as possible causes: the spillway at the outlet of the lake, the lily pad growth at the approach to the spillway, beaver activity, and the size of the tubes further down from the spillway that carry the water under the roads that cross the ditch. I contacted David Nance at the DNR, Division of Water. He was very willing to talk about the issues. He sent me lots of information and was in the area one day and met with me and Larry Ladd back at the spillway. The following is information that came out of my conversations with Dave. I have also heard him present at a Forum on Flooding at the Tippecanoe Watershed Foundation as well as the Indiana Lakes Management Society conference this past spring. I have graphs and other information that I can pass along to you if you are interested. Just contact me.
The spillway’s primary function is to keep the lake level from getting too low. Dave passed on to me a graph of the lake level as recorded by the USGS from the 1940’s to 2000 when the USGS gauging equipment was removed from the lake. Prior to the old wooden dam structure being built on Ridinger, the lake level was very low. In 1949 the Kosciusko Circuit Court determined what the lake levels would be. Ridinger’s was set at 843.12 feet above sea level with a 100 year flood stage of 848.06. Looking at the graph, there are periodic spikes approximately every 15 years where the lake level comes close to the 100 year flood mark. Dave also gave me graphs from other lakes in the area, Barbee and Pike, to show that they had similar lake levels during the same periods. He passed on precipitation records from the Fort Wayne weather station and the trend for precipitation in our area is moving up over time.
Dave also talked about flood plains. Ridinger does not have much of a flood plain so that is why during heavy precipitation our lake level will rise quickly but it also drops quickly. He compared us to Barbee Lake which has a larger flood plain. On Barbee he says the lake level will rise and flood the plain and then it stays flooded until that water can be absorbed back into the lake.
We looked at the spillway and there did not seem to be any problems with the structure. Larry Ladd was able to offer insight into the flooding we had in the spring of 2009. He went back to the spillway when the lake level was high and he says the water was just gushing over the spillway. With the spillway designed to hold the water in at a specific level anything higher is just going to run over the top. We discussed the size of the tubes that go under the roads. As Larry says, once the water gets there the opening is only so big. It is something we will need to look at during the next flood event, which we fortunately have not had, to see what is happening there. The feeling is that if the tube is too small, the water would be up onto the road at that point. We discussed the lily pads. Larry commented that they used to launch their boats at the spillway and that is probably what kept the lily pad growth at bay. Since Jellystone moved locations the lily pads are able to take over that space. Dave felt that when the lake level is high the lily pads would not be enough to hold in the water not to mention that they would not have been up during the spring events.
As I mentioned, a Forum on Flooding was held this fall at the Tippecanoe Watershed Foundation. I spoke with Jed Pearson , DNR Biologist in our area, regarding the beaver concern. Standing at the spillway and along Kyle road and looking at Elder I am not able to see any beaver blockage although it could be further downstream. Jed said that he has a trapper in the area that he issues a permit to and he would mention to him to try closer to Ridinger.
I also picked up information on the flood insurance program. If you have flood insurance and if there is a pattern of flooding on your property, there is money available to help with things like raising your foundation. So wrapping this up what I have found out on my fact finding mission is that when we have a lot of rain in a short period of time the lake is going to rise. To lower the spillway so that it lets more water out in the event of a lot of rain would require petitioning the court to make a change and we would be left with a lower lake level the rest of the year. We need to keep an eye on the beavers! One thing that you can do is make sure at the end of the summer season that you have everything on your property properly stored and/or weighted down. We all know that a lot of stuff floats off during a flood event. We would not want to have anything block the spillway or the tubes and compound the problem. During the forum Dave did show a picture of a dam structure on one of the lakes in the area that had a pier section stuck in it so the water was flooding the area around the structure. I will have all of the above information at the spring meeting for anyone who would like it. It is also available to you by contacting me and at anytime I will come by and explain it to you as it was explained to me.
The dredging project was performed last fall and the dredging itself was completed. Along with all the silt, the dredge sucked up a couple of bicycles, a tire and a deer skull. It was estimated initially that they would remove 10,000-12,000 yards of sediment. Due to the dense, full nature of the buildup they removed 15,722 yards of material. They used a hydraulic dredge boat as well as an excavator to clean up the sides. At the mouth of the lake they dredged until the elevation started to drop off to provide better boat access to the lake. There is a short video of the dredging on the website.
Our basin site for the project is the corner of Adams road before you get to R4. You can see the berms and second basin from R4 as you enter the East side neighborhood. This is not a construction project. Unfortunately we were not able to level the basin this spring so the lake association needed to renew the lease on the land. Please remember that this is private property and the land owner does not want anyone on the property.
Cost of the dredging, paid so far was $98,870.00 to Merrill Brothers. The LARE grant paid 75% of this cost. Of our 25%, the county paid $22,000. Our portion was $2717.50 plus the cost to lease the land for two years ($4,000). There will still be expense this summer/fall to level the basin and to seed the bare soil. The cost of the leveling is $4,720 with the same 75% paid through the LARE grant. The cost of the seeding will be the responsibility of the lake association. Should you have any questions about the dredging please feel free to contact me.
The past three years we have received a LARE grant for the spraying of the Eurasian Milfoil, an invasive weed, in the lake. The grant is a 3-5 year grant which needs to be reapplied for each year. The lake association did apply this year but was not awarded any grant money. The following is from the letter I received: “Since funds are very limited and grants are awarded on a competitive basis, this year’s focus will be limited to the eradication of “super exotics” such as hydrilla, starry stonewort, and parrot feather. We have to stop these exotic vegetation infestations where they are found to avoid similar problems elsewhere in Indiana's lakes. These are the main priorities until these plants are no longer a threat to other lakes. This does mean, however, that many other aquatic vegetation control and sediment removal projects, while still eligible for 2011 funding, will not be funded in 2010.” In case you are curious where these plants come from I was at the garden center recently to get some plants and in the water garden section for sale is Parrot Feather.
This year we will have shoreline weed spraying available to anyone who is interested. The cost is the same as last year $2.00 a foot. Aquatic Weed Control out of Syracuse will once again do the spraying. If you are interested, decide how much shoreline you would like sprayed. You can give me a check or mail it directly to the contractor at: Aquatic Weed Control, PO Box 325, Syracuse, IN 46567. Please make the check out to Aquatic Weed Control and write “Ridinger Lake” in the memo line so they know where you are. The deadline is June 12th. The spraying will be done sometime the following week. How this works is I have flags that you will put in your yard to designate the frontage you would like sprayed. The contractor goes around the lake and sprays where there are flags. If you have children please instruct them that they cannot remove the yellow flags from the ground. We had a problem last year in the South end of the lake. If the flags are taken or moved then a property owner will not get the service they have paid for. If you are unsure if you would like to do this, I can give you the names of some of the residents that did have it done last year and you can check with them on whether they felt it was worthwhile.
Sunday June 6th is our Spring Meeting. It is at 2:00pm and held at Ken and Pam Arthur’s, 19 EMS R4H lane. Someone from the Tippecanoe Watershed Foundation will come and present information on all the work that has been done upstream on Elder Ditch with property owners to help with erosion control and to keep other sediment out of the ditch and coming into our lake.
The Lake Association, Jellystone, The Indiana Lakes Management Society, Tippecanoe Watershed Foundation and the Lakes and Streams program through Grace College will be hosting a workshop June 19th at Jellystone. It will be from 9am-12pm and cover phosphorous free lawn care practices and the value of rain barrels. Lyn Crighton from the TWF will present on the lawn care and how it impacts the lake. Sue Studebaker from the Kosciusko Solid Waste District will present on the value of rain barrels. Rain barrel kits, everything you need to put one together, will be available for $25.00 and need to be preordered by June 12th, otherwise this is a free workshop. To order a rain barrel kit you can contact me.
June 26th the lake association will have a garage sale on the West side of the lake at Tom and Janice Rager’s “big house”. All proceeds will go the lake association. If you have items you would like to donate you can contact me to pick them up or drop them off. If you are on the West side of the lake you can drop them off at Tom and Janice’s big house. If you are available to help man the garage sale, please let me know.
July 31st is Jellystone’s annual flotilla. They want to be sure that it is known that everyone is invited to participate. Decorate your boat and enter for a chance to win a cash prize. Or sit out and watch the boats go by. Contact Jellystone for more information 574-594-2124.
September 4th is the fall meeting. This is the election year. Please consider running for an office (President, Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer) or volunteering to be on the board. Your lake association only works with help from you. Even if you do not live on the lake year round please consider being a part. In this age of instant messaging and speaker phones you should be able to attend meetings whether you are here or not.
To participate in the election you need to be a member in good standing. Dues are $35.00 a year. Checks are payable to the Ridinger Lake Property Owner’s Association or RLPOA for short. Checks can be given to any of the officers or board members or mailed to the association at PO Box 3, Pierceton, IN 46562.
Also, if you use the beach, the boat ramp, or have a pier on association property you need to pay your dues. All of this is lake association property and paying your dues grants you access to it.
What have I been doing for the lake and lake association? This spring I attended the Indiana Lakes Management Society Conference. I have been asked to serve on their outreach committee. I also wrote a short article for their next newsletter about Ridinger. They like to showcase a lake around the state. The article is on the website in the forum under the general discussion titled Ridinger Lake. If you do not have access to e-mail and would like to read it just let me know and I will print you a copy. I attended the National Water Monitoring Conference this spring also. Honestly, this is not my field of work so it was more technical than I could understand in a lot of instances but I did learn. The Tippecanoe Watershed Foundation has formed a Watershed Management Committee that I was asked to be a part of. The task of the committee is water monitoring and looking at projects within the watershed to spend grant money on.
This summer I am committed to water monitoring around the lake. Last year I monitored the inlet (Elder Ditch). I will do that this year as well as the outlet. I feel it is important to know what is coming in to the lake as well as what we are sending downstream. I also will begin monitoring the lake level with the gauge that is on the spillway. Since the USGS no longer has monitoring equipment on the lake, volunteers can monitor and report it to the state. Toney Owsley have volunteered to do water clarity monitoring on the lake. This program is through Indiana Clean Lakes Program. All the monitoring data will be available on the website under the water quality section.
Have a great and safe summer. I hope to see you at one of our events. Since it is Memorial Day weekend, I would like to thank all of those who have served our country so that we are free to have a lake association and determine to a large part what is best for our lake.
Your lake association officers are as follows:
Jodi Lozier, President 4 EMS R4H 574-594-3433
jodilozier@aol.comTom Rager, Vice President 112 EMS R2B
Ron Syzmanski R4 representative 413 EMS R4
Bonnie Craig R4 representative 25 EMS R4A
Marcia Boyd R3 representative 128 EMS R3E
Janice Rager R2 representative 112 EMS R2B
2010 SUMMER EVENTS
June 6th, Sunday, Spring Meeting 2:00pm. Pam and Ken Arthurs. Bring a chair. Guest speaker from the Tippecanoe Watershed Foundation
June 8th Shoreline Planting workshop. Big Lake Church of God 7pm-9pm. (not an association event)
June 12th, Last day to register for shoreline spraying
June 12th Last day to order a rain barrel kit
June 19th, Workshop at Jellystone. 9am-12pm. Topics: Phosophorous free lawn care and rain barrels
June 26th Lake Association Garage Sale West side of lake 8:00am-4:00pm
June 26th Lakes Festival at Center lake in Warsaw (not an association event)
July 3rd Kids Parade East side neighborhood. 11:00am Decorate your bike, golf cart, four wheeler, or yourself and show pride in your country
July 3rd Fireworks at dusk provided by Jellystone. Rain date, July 4th
July 24th Kids Day Camp. Learn about lake ecology and how you can begin to care for it
July 31st Flotilla
August 14th Family Fun Day at the East side beach 11:00am
September 4th Fall Meeting and Elections
If you are available to help with any of the above activities, please contact me. It will be appreciated!
