Web posted
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Winfield Lake gets thumbs up
By SYDNEY BLAND
Traveler Staff Writer
action@arkcity.net
Not too many Cowley people worry about the water supply. In fact,
water is generally taken for granted, but those involved in taking
care of local watersheds take the matter very seriously.
There has been concern for several years over Winfield Lake's
remaining a future source of drinking water for the Winfield area. A
recent study, however, shows the lake is in good shape, and will
remain so for at least 500 years if properly maintained, said Kansas
Department of Health and Environment Watershed Planning Chief Tom
Stiles, at a Winfield watershed meeting.
"The Winfield Lake is robust," said Stiles. "Only 7 percent of
the lake is composed of silt, instead of the projected 25 percent.
There is sufficient water supply for our grandchildren and their
grandchildren if it is taken care of."
"This is good news to most of the people in Cowley County because,
among the other uses that are enhanced by clean water, the lake is
the source of drinking water for most of the people in Cowley
County," Grouse-Silver Creek Watershed President Roger Black said.
A 2007 study showed the lake has lost only about 3 to 4 percent of
its capacity since it was established 37 years ago.
According to Black, lakes have a "useful life" limited by the
eventual filling with silt. Original projections were that by 2007,
when the lake was 36 years old, it would be 25 percent silt filled.
"Developing alternative water supplies, if Winfield City Lake could
no longer supply sufficient water storage capacity, would take years
and be very expensive. Extending the life of Winfield City Lake
through good watershed management is a way to control the cost of
living and improve the quality of life in its service area."
Cowley County is divided between several watersheds. Two major
watersheds in Cowley County, Grouse-Silver Creek and Timber Creek,
have very different primary concerns.
The Timber Creek Watershed, which provides the water in Winfield City
Lake, has a high priority for preserving the quality and quantity of
water in the lake.
The Grouse-Silver Creek watershed is considered pristine, but does
not supply drinking water.
"Many biologists in federal, state and private organizations regard
Grouse Creek as a reference stream," said Black. "In other words,
when evaluating the quality of a particular stream, they compare it
to Grouse Creek."
"We drink it. We flush it; grow crops with it; play in it; fish in
it, reuse it; share it; and send it down stream. Then we do it all
over again," said Black. "It is no wonder there is an alphabet
soup of public and private groups that worry about, plan for and are
advocates for the responsible use of our water. The strange thing is,
these diverse interest groups often sound like five blind men
describing an elephant because they use and understand the value of
water differently."
The watershed group recently met in Burden with landowners, operators
and officials from local and state agencies to gather feedback from
the stakeholder leadership team about the activities to protect the
water quality in Cowley County.
Team members Kent Radcliff and Black, along with Water Quality
Coordinator Jenni Carr provided a tour of completed projects and
concerns in the watershed for the officials prior to the meeting.
According to Black, a watershed is a land area that drains water to a
downstream location. The Grouse-Silver Creek Watershed Board has
partnered with that alphabet soup of public and private groups to
secure funding and technical advice to help pass Cowley's watershed
to future generations in a better condition than it was found.
Cowley's watershed group has developed a restoration and protection
strategy, or WRAPS, to maintain and protect the pristine condition of
Grouse and Silver creeks.
They are cost-sharing projects to help landowners and operators
implement practices that will reduce soil loss and pollution
potential for the local waters. These projects range from an access
road that will change a winter feeding site, which in return will
reduce the possibility of fecal coliform pollution in Cowley State
Fishing Lake to a water and sediment control basin that will stop
erosion into Plum Creek, which is a direct tributary of Grouse Creek.
"One of the purposes of WRAPS is to provide a conduit between the
community and our unique concerns about water and the various
regulators and service providers who are involved with water
management," said Black. "The WRAPS is an effort to continually
reconnect local interest with the resources to develop and implement
solutions."
The objectives identified by citizens with an interest in the Grouse-
Silver Watershed area can best be summed up by one statement: "Keep
the mud off our gravel bars," said Black.
The areas of concentration by the WRAPS initiative for the next few
years are:
* healing salt scars - largely in old and existing oil fields,
* stabilizing stream banks - especially near roads and bridges,
* plugging abandoned water wells.
"All of these actions will help to ensure the long-term value of the
watershed and the people and critters who enjoy it," said Black.
County Administrator Leroy Alsup and Winfield Mayor Mike Leedy could
not be reached Friday for comment.
Fun facts to know and tell
* Winfield Lake is 37 year old, impounding water from 64 sq. mi. on Timber Creek.
* Its area is 1,070 acres with a maximum depth of 12-12.5 meters,
* Historical loss of storage amounts to 713 acre-feet, leaving 17,921 acre-feel.
* Impacted by Zebra Mussels.
* Walnut River Basin covers approximately 2,380 sq. mi. Implementation plans through 2015
* Minimize cropland erosion
* Implement nutrient management plans
* Install grass buffers along intermittent streams
Additional input from the public is welcome. Direct questions or
suggestions to Cowley County Conservation District Water Quality
Coordinator Jennifer Carr, (620) 221- 1850 ext. 3, via e-mail:
jennifer.carr@ks.nacdnet.net or stop by the NRCS office at 2118 E.
Ninth St., Ste. B, Winfield, Kan.
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