Twin Lakes water levels returning to normal

Mar. 4—After a summer and fall of drought and record low water, Lake Freeman by Monticello is at its usual levels.

The other Twin Lake, Lake Shafer, is also at its usual levels, although it wasn't as severely affected.

The confirmation of the return to normal levels came from Chris K. Springer, Director of White County Emergency Management, Department of Homeland Security.

Freeman's water level was measured to be at normal levels at 6 a.m. on March 1, near the face of the Oakdale Hydroelectric Dam, according to the official announcement.

Water flowing through the NIPSCO dam has returned to the normal Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) operating range, it continued.

Water levels in Freeman had been down 10 to 12 feet during autumn, said Gabrielle Haygood, Executive Director of the Shafer and Freeman Lakes Environmental Conservation Corporation [SFLECC].

SFLECC is a not-for-profit group that owns the property that makes up shores of the two lakes and maintains the lakes through fees from those who own property on the lake.

Haygood hadn't seen the levels that low before, and the water was within 5 feet of the natural river bed, she said.

The two lakes were formed in the early 20th century by hydroelectric dams on the Tippecanoe River, and in the last few years, the amount of water that went through the Oakdale Dam that created Freeman was regulated to preserve the habitats of endangered freshwater mussels downstream.

Lake Shafer isn't regulated for that and isn't required to increase its water flow to Freeman.

Haygood said that a lawsuit that SFLECC filed against the federal government, specifically U.S. Fish and Wildlife, for the water flow requirements had a hearing on in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 5.

The organization wants to be able to maintain water levels in Freeman to a certain height.

However, SFLECC hasn't heard a decision, she said.

Those around the Twin Lakes noticed water levels falling in July to August of 2020.

Haygood's records state there was a one to 2-inch drop, and then in late August, levels went to "abnormal low flow."

Freeman's water level continued to drop through September and into October.

The effects of the low water have hit the Twin Lakes area in a few ways, including concern that it could happen again.

The resort area that surrounds Monticello has a non-summer tourism season from August through Oct.1, but there wasn't enough water for boats and outdoor recreation.

"With COVID going on, that was one of the things people could do," she said.

A handful of cottages around the lake that rely on shallow wells for water found their water source dried up, she added.

Seawalls that shored up land against the lake crumbled without the pressure of the water against them.

Then with the boating season ended, homeowners couldn't get their boats out of the water to be winterized properly (although some marinas made housecalls), and boat lifts slanted or became loose.

"It's definitely taken its toll on several people and the community," Haygood said.

Water levels began to return in late December after some rain came down further north and traveled downriver to White County.

"It wasn't a lot, but it was enough that it didn't go any lower. And we had seen a little bit of a small increase," she said.

But February's snowstorms were the major contributors to rising levels.

Despite the restored water levels, the drought isn't over, according to the United States Weather Service of Northern Indiana.

Although autumn had normal precipitation, it's been a dry winter, said a Weather Service spokesman.

"It's still not quite enough," he said.

The melting snow did fill creeks, rivers and lakes because it mostly became runoff.

That was because the ground was too cold to absorb any water, so it remains dry.

The area's drought remains at a D0 designation, the lowest in a scale that goes up to D4, the spokesman said.

It's not like out West where the droughts get higher, he said.

Although much of north central Indiana didn't notice the effects until mid-summer, the drought began in June.

He said the lack of water happened because the country's weather system was between two jet streams for the last several months.

The jet streams carry moisture.

The forecast doesn't call for precipitation until the end of next week to the following week, he said.

Reach James D. Wolf Jr. at james.wolf@pharostribune.com or 574-732-5117

Twitter @JamesDWolfJr