Posted on December 15, 2021
LOGAN – The Ohio Department of Natural Resources says it has plans to – at some point – dredge Lake Logan to deal with an ongoing siltation issue, once it has secured the use of a piece of adjacent land where it can deposit the silt removed from the lake.
A Hocking County man, however, questions whether maintaining the lake is a high enough priority for ODNR, and says he would like to see the state agency make more outreach efforts to keep the public informed of what’s being done with the lake, and collect public input.
Bud Simpson, who writes a weekly opinion column for The Logan Daily News, has devoted three recent columns to his concerns that based on depth measurements made by the state over the years, Lake Logan appears to be steadily decreasing in depth, due to silt buildup caused by runoff from the surrounding land. While Simpson believes this process cannot be stopped, only alleviated temporarily, he also believes ODNR could be doing more both to address the problem and keep the public informed.
“The (information) they give to the public is (about) stuff they’re going to do, but they won’t tell me what their definite plans are,” he said. “There are no definite plans, actually – at least in my opinion.” As recounted in one of his columns, Simpson was alerted to the extent of the siltation problem by the increasing presence of the American Lotus, an aquatic plant that can dominate and crowd out other plants when the water in a lake gets shallow enough.
“Some people think they’re beautiful, and they are,” he said. “But it’s also a great sign of distress for the lake.” Without action to arrest the process, he predicts, the whole upper third of the lake will in the near future be turned into a marshland dominated by the American Lotus.
When The Logan Daily News made inquiries about Lake Logan’s siltation, and the state’s plans to address it, ODNR Dredge Administrator Thomas A. Grabow responded to a number of questions via email.
Grabow confirmed that ODNR does see evidence of “a significant build-up of organic material at the eastern end of Lake Logan. Dredging in the area will improve navigation.”
Before that can happen, however, Grabow stated, “we must have a place to deposit the dredged materials from the lake. Currently, ODNR is in the process of leasing land near the lake to create a Dredge Material Relocation Area (DMRA). Once an agreement has been reached, staff will survey the property and perform necessary environmental and cultural reviews. Once that process is complete, ODNR can begin to construct dredge material holding cells. Staff estimate that the site could hold up to 150,000 cubic yards of dredge material. Once the site is ready, ODNR’s Division of Parks and Watercraft will locate a dredge at the lake and begin dredging.”
The official gave no precise timetable for when any of this will happen.
In one of his columns, Simpson maintained that there is no real escape from the process that is filling up the lake with soil runoff. Grabow seemed to acknowledge that this is the case.
“Most bodies of water, such as lakes, experience a certain amount of sedimentation depending upon watershed size and the number of tributaries,” he wrote. “Other factors include impact of urbanization, land use, wastewater systems, and other sources of run-off.”
Simpson believes that the rate at which the lake appears to be filling up with silt suggests that if action isn’t taken, in the near future the upper third of the lake will be a marshland dominated by the American Lotus.
“I feel sorry for all of the abutting landowners; they’re not going to have a lake in front of their house anymore,” he said. “It’s going to be weeds.” He also suggested that with Lake Logan serving as one of the area’s draws for the tourist trade, this could end up impacting the county economically.
Asked about the plausibility of this scenario in which part of the lake essentially becomes a wetland, Grabow responded: “Aquatic vegetation can spread easier in shallower waters, but dredging will help alleviate their growth. After dredging is complete, if needed, excess vegetation can be removed with other equipment.”
Simpson said he would like to see ODNR schedule some public meetings, to allow citizens to learn about the status of the lake and offer input. So far, he said, he has had no luck in trying to convince the agency to do so.
Questioned as to what efforts the agency has made to inform the public about the situation at Lake Logan, Grabow seemed to indicate that this may happen once ODNR actually starts dredging.
“Overall, ODNR’s Division of Parks and Watercraft’s dredge team works closely with local park managers to determine what is needed locally,” he wrote. “Once dredging commences at Lake Logan, staff will be able to share more information about the effectiveness of the dredge plan and share updates with lake users and community members.”
He reiterated that “ODNR is working toward having a dredge in place once the Lake Logan DMRA has been established.”
