Lake Wawasee - Water Quality and Wetlands

Water Quality and Wetlands

The community around Wawasee pushes for water clarity and keeping the lake clean for future generations. One of the most active organizations involved in wetland and water quality protection is the Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation (WACF). This non profit group has a documented history of action and lake preservation. The WACF was formed in 1991 to anticipate, discover, and correct threats to the Wawasee Area Watershed and to its water quality. The WACF is dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of the area and works hand-in-hand with property owner groups, the State Department of Natural Resources and other governmental and civic organizations that share its concerns.

One ongoing battle concerning preservation involves a local farmer who has a permit to open a hog farm in the area. So far the conservancy has been successful in dissuading the local farmer. Lake Wawasee is unusually clear for a Midwest lake. This is, in part, due to its location just a few miles from a continental divide that separates water that runs off to the Mississippi River basin and Lake Michigan. Another reason for this clarity is that most of the lake's nutrients are tied up in vegetation and zebra mussels. According to a 1995 study, Wawasee's water clarity allows for viewing up to 15-foot (4.6 m) depths, whereas other Midwest lakes, on average, have clarity allowing for viewing 2 to 6-foot (1.8 m) depths.

Since 1991, invasive Zebra Mussels have been found in Lake Wawasee and have become a nuisance to the local marinas, fishermen, and property owners.