DECATUR, Ind. — Adams County should benefit from a management plan to clean up pollution problems in the St. Marys River watershed, a county commissioner said.<br>

“It could lead to a real understanding for us,” Steve Baumann said. “We can learn what’s in our water. We need to protect our Earth, because we live here.”<br>

Officials from the soil and water conservation districts (SWCD) in Adams, Allen and Wells counties are working on the project. Recommendations could be released, and implementation begun, as early as later this year.<br>

The St. Marys watershed covers 814 square miles in northeastern Indiana in Adams, Allen and Wells counties. It also covers four counties – Auglaize, Mercer, Shelby and Van Wert – in Ohio. It contains 434 miles of perennial streams in Indiana.<br>

The river starts at the eastern end of Grand Lake St. Marys in Auglaize County. It flows northwest into Indiana, eventually joining the St. Joseph River in Fort Wayne to form the Maumee River. In Indiana, the bulk of the watershed is in Adams County.<br>

“Water quality is a fairly new thing for us,” said Baumann, who lives near the river north of Decatur. “We have not had any complaints. But I love the water. I love my river, and this is the right thing to do. We need to get back to where you could catch something in the river and be able to eat it without worry.”<br>

Knowing what‘s in the river will help county officials in dealing with future sanitation problems, he said.<br>

“This will look at water quality and the sediment that goes into the river. We should also be able to educate farmers so that sediment doesn‘t end up in there.”<br>

The St. Marys River watershed caught the eyes of state and federal officials because of concerns over high levels of bacteria, nutrients and total suspended solids, said Greg Lake, director of Allen County’s SWCD.<br>

The management plan will deal with ways to better control nonpoint source pollution, he said. The goal is to reach numeric targets identified by the Indiana Department of Environmental Manage-ment (IDEM).<br>

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires each state to develop Total Maximum Daily Load reports for any waterways not meeting water quality standards. IDEM completed a report on the St. Marys watershed in 2005. Ohio is not scheduled to complete its report until 2012.<br>

“Unfortunately, there is no regulatory aspect to this,” Lake said. ”It’s strictly voluntary. It’s hard to regulate nonpoint source pollution issues. Mother Nature can deal us a blow.<br>

“Even though nonpoint source pollution concerns are still addressed on a voluntary basis, I have to wonder how much longer that will be the case.”<br>

Funding for the program comes from a federal EPA grant administered through IDEM, said Clint A. Nester, St. Marys River watershed project manager. Section 319 of the federal Clean Water Act offers funding to help states and local communities with nonpoint source pollution problems.<br>

Nester is organizing a steering committee of 10-15 people to help in the process.<br>

The first meeting on the project was in December in Decatur, and the second was last month.<br>

“That group will be my go-to group,” he said. “So far, everyone has been pretty supportive.”<br>

The federal grant runs through 2010, but the final management plan has to be submitted by January 2009, Nester said. A draft plan will be submitted in August.<br>

“They will make comments, request additional information, and we’ll make the revisions,” he said.<br>

“There will probably be some back-and-forth.”<br>

Implementation of some of the proposals could begin by the end of the year, he said.<br>

Adams County’s large Amish population creates a unique situation for project organizers, Lake said.<br>

“I’m hoping we can create inroads to work with the Amish,” he said. “It’s a tremendous opportunity.”<br>

Nester is encouraging those interested to serve on the steering committee.<br>

To contact him, call the Allen County SWCD office, 484-5848, ext. 115. For more information on the project, visit the Allen County SWCD website at www.AllenSWCD.org