Indian Lake Great Miami River
Maintenance Program
The Indian Lake Great Miami River Maintenance Program (“Program”) is an initiative of the Grange Solar Grazing Center that will fund the cleanup and maintenance of a 3.35-mile stretch of the Great Miami River to improve local water quality, reduce erosion and flooding, and enable new recreation, fishing, and tourism on the Great Miami River in the project area.
Grange will fund and work with Ohio’s River Rangers organization to clean, stabilize, and maintain a ~3.35-mile stretch of the Great Miami River from the Indian Lake Great Miami River Spillway to the SR-274 Bridge.
-
The River Rangers are a nonprofit organization specializing in the responsible management of natural debris in Ohio’s waterways. Uncontrolled natural debris in local waterways increase runoff and flooding, soil erosion and loss of land, and can lead to physical harm to people and infrastructure.
-
The River Rangers will survey and clear debris along the stretch of the river subject to the Program, stabilize the riverbanks to prevent further erosion, and will maintain that stretch of river annually throughout the duration of the program. A River Rangers survey funded by Grange in 2023 along the program stretch identified a total of 37 hazards including 14 complete blockages which posed both hazards to recreators and the potential to increase flood risk and impact local infrastructure.
-
Riverbank stabilization - Using a variety of methods, the River Rangers stabilize the river bank, stopping erosion and encouraging sedimentation.
Improved water quality - Loss of soil along waterways impacts more than farm fields. Many waterways see an increase in chemicals from runoff, which can lead to a disruption of the ecosystem. Increased sediment in the waterways slows water flow and increases farm field runoff contamination, which is the primary cause of Algal blooms like those that are negatively impacting Indian Lake. The River Rangers will utilize various methods to retain soils and create natural biofilters which reduce the amount of contaminants entering the Great Miami River.
New recreational opportunities - By removing hazards and keeping the river free of hazards within the Program area, the Great Miami River will be accessible for fishing, boating, and other recreational activities and can even become a new source of tourism in the Indian Lake area. As part of the Program, the River Rangers will engage the public in waterway safety and implement an interactive system that tracks new hazard reports, publicizes them, and get to work on removing them to keep the river clean, safe, and accessible to the public.
Examples of Common Hazards
Example hazards identified by River Rangers along Program stretch. “Alpha” logs have created debris fields along the Program stretch which result in blockage and erosion. Often the roots of the trees on the river banks at these blockages are exposed as a result, which deteriorates the bank over time and results in increased flooding. The River Rangers pull the debris field to one side of the river and secure it out of the waterway to encourage sedimentation and habitat growth, clearing the river for safe passage and bolstering the river bank.