Low lake levels on Lake Freeman creating obstacles for businesses and boaters

People living on Lake Freeman in White County are dealing with abnormal river conditions.

A local group is taking matters into its own hands to solve the problem.

It's a problem they aren't foreign to.

A local group is taking matters into its own hands to solve the problem.

I spoke with someone from the group and a business owner who says it's stressful having to overcome this obstacle while dealing with the impact of covid-19.

"today the boat is down a little over foot."

Owner of the madam carroll chris peters says low lake levels are creating quite a situation for his staff.

Nat pop while there's been lack of rain in the area.

Abnormal river conditions also derive from another issue.

"we started the task force back in 2014.

When the lake was down a few feet at that point and that's when our battle really started."

John coppelmann is a chair person for the shafer freeman lake environmental conservation group.

He says a wildlife group called fish and wildlife noticed several muscles were exposed by the oakdale dam.

"they started giving mandates to nipsco about certain amount of flow that needed to go out to oakdale to keep the dam covered."

-and how did the group recommend keeping the flow?

By moving more water from lake freeman.

In 2018 it became a mandate that nipsco move water from lake freeman to the dam.

"fish and wildlife doesn't term it as draining the lake.

They look at it as keeping a certain flow going across the tippecanoe riverbed.

To do that flow you have to drain the lake because the water is obviously not coming in."

Nat pop "we've just put a whole bunch of capitol into making things covid approved, outdoor seating televisions upstairs so you can see shows down here."

Crew members on the madam carroll have tried to add extra sers to safely board the boat.

Peters has purchased longer chains to keep the boat afloat.

Madam carroll's ada ramp doesn't extend like it's suppose to because the boat is so low the door doesn't open completely.

"now we are having to rebuild infrastructure.

We are welding the door shut so we can change hinges so the bands can load in this weekend if the lakes not coming up."

Electric company nipsco says boaters need to be mindful of submerged objects in the water.

"if you are boating and don't know what's under the water which most people don't, you could hit those,be injured, be killed."

Shafer freeman lake environmental conservation filed a suit to the district court in washington d.c.

Coppleman says the group has a court date set in october for oral arguments with fish and wildlife to get rid of the mandate.

We will continue following this story.

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