CELINA — A second treatment train aimed at improving water quality pouring into Grand Lake St. Marys has been completed and online for two weeks, and the Lake Improvement Corporation said it is already yielding results.
The $2.1 million project on the 40-acre former farm field located at the Coldwater Creek entry point of the lake took a little bit longer than expected to complete due to a dry spring in summer, but Grand Lake Restoration Commission manager Milt Miller said the project is already showing results.
About 4 million gallons of water are pumped each day from Coldwater Creek and run through a natural filtering system of deep pool water and vegetation to capture excess nutrients before they gets to the lake. The slow-moving water drops the silt in the pools, and the vegetation uses up the nutrients. The intended result is to reveal cleaner water and also provides a nature reserve and wetlands.
The new treatment train is three times as large as the first built near Prairie Creek. The Prairie Creek Treatment Train now has natural swamp land teeming with frogs, snakes and waterfowl. The biggest revelation has been at the end of the train. Water going through the train is clear and natural vegetation is exploding out into the lake, showing proof of its success according to Miller. That project was completed in 2013.
“We have every reason to think that this treatment train will be just as successful as Prairie Creek,” Miller said.
Miller said that the success of the treatment trains has opened eyes and groups from colleges and soil and water conservation agencies are flooding to check out the treatment trains.
Despite the success, Miller admitted there are setbacks. While 4 million gallons from one creek may sound like a lot, it is a fraction of the water that empties into Grand Lake. The projects are expensive and the commission receives only donations and does not received state or federal funds. It leads to questions of cost effectiveness. Much of the land purchased for the treatment train was high-priced farmland. The organization must also compete with real estate and other development around the lake. Development around the lake is seen as part of the problem.
“The ultimate goal is to eventually have the creeks go right through wetlands created by the treatment trains,” Miller said. “The water in the Coldwater Treatment Train ultimately will be diverted through the goose refuge and wetlands nearby, but we are a long way from that point.”
A third project is also currently under preparation on Beaver Creek.
