Conservation Law Center Receives $20,000 Grant from Duke Energy Foundation for Water Monitoring on Lake Monroe

The Duke Energy Foundation recently awarded Conservation Law Center a grant for $20,000 to help improve water monitoring and management of Lake Monroe. The grant will help establish a water monitoring station on the South Fork of Salt Creek, one of the main feeder creeks for the lake. The monitoring station will provide valuable information on the inputs affecting water quantity and quality, while helping inform public officials and citizens on the challenges facing this important resource.

As Indiana’s largest lake, and a drinking water supply as well as economic development driver for several counties in south-central Indiana, Lake Monroe plays a critical role in the region.

Along with the Duke Energy Foundation, Conservation Law Center is partnering with the United States Geological Survey and Friends of Lake Monroe on the project. The monitoring station will allow Conservation Law Center and its partners to establish baseline figures for factors such as flow, nutrients, and sediment on the South Fork. With that information, the partners can supplement other efforts to identify priorities for action in a management plan to address the most pressing issues facing the watershed. By providing important data needed to create an informed management plan for the lake, the monitoring project will directly contribute to the health, vitality, and longevity of Lake Monroe as well as those who depend on it for drinking water and recreation. More than 300,000 people live in the Lake Monroe watershed, and all will benefit from management decisions based on good science.