Geist Watershed Alliance

By Wendy Thanisch
Wendy@atGeist.com

The Geist Community’s own non-profit water quality protection organization, the Geist Watershed Alliance (GWA), was notified on July 9^th that it has been awarded $54,000 from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to fund the development of a watershed management plan. This is the GWA’s first big achievement, and is significant for not only for Geist, but also numerous other watershed groups in the region.

According to Gwen White of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, her agency is extremely excited to make this award because it will be funding a unique project – one which has not been done on such a large scale in this state. Specifically, it is designed to permit multiple agencies and organizations the ability to work together to share data, resources and solutions for protecting the region’s water quality.

One of the GWA’s first steps will be to hire a watershed coordinator. This contractor will serve as an administrator to organize and manage the GWA’s affairs, administer the grant’s guidelines and execute the strategies determined by its steering committee. Ultimately, the funding will allow this paid coordinator to streamline the tasks related to GWA’s mission without risk of failing to meet its goals due to inadequate volunteer participation, skills or resources.

During the course of the next 18 months, the GWA will develop a workable watershed management plan based on the technical data generated by the various government agencies, institutions and the feedback from all types of stakeholders. The plan will outline various projects and initiatives, which up to this point have not been started due to lack of funding, manpower and scientific research.

As described by DNR’s Gwen White, her agency anticipates that the GWA’s award will result in a plan that offers resources and benefits to a number of other connected communities and watersheds, and thereby contribute to the overall health of the lakes, streams, rivers and reservoirs in the region. Ms. White adds that other smaller watershed groups will be subsequently positioned to apply for future grants to fund their own projects.

At the end of July, the GWA’s Steering Committee will be meeting with representatives from DNR’s Lake and River Enhancement Program (LARE), the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) and IUPUI to determine the organization’s structure and prepare a solicitation for bids in order to select a contracted watershed coordinator. In the meantime, residents interested in learning more about the Geist Watershed Alliance and its mission can visit their website at www.GeistWatershed.com. Full details about the grant and its objectives are available online.