Recently, SFLECC stocked Lakes Freeman & Shafer with some Large Mouth Bass. We’ll be doing another installment in the fall with other types of fish. A big thanks to NIPSCO and Clear Creek Fisheries LLC for making this happen!

At this time, the surface elevation taken near the face of the Oakdale Hydroelectric Dam has returned to the normal Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) operating range between 610.10 and 611.10 ft.

A vacancy on the Board of Directors of Shafer and Freeman Lakes Environmental Conservation Corporation (SFLECC) has occurred.

Any member of the SFLECC interested in being considered to fill this position should send their current resume to: SFLECC Attn: Nominating Committee, P.O. Box 372, Monticello, Indiana  47960. Resumes should be received by 4 pm on October 20^th, 2021.

All board members must be legal residents of the State of Indiana and members of the corporation. A member of the corporation consists of a person who has a paid current Shore Front License during the calendar year. A member could also be a recorded member of an Association with a paid current Shore Front License.

The SFLECC does have an attendance policy for board members and each member is asked to serve on a sub-committee.  Approximately 10 hours of volunteer work per month is expected. 

As Lake Freeman levels continue to be impacted, an Abnormal River Condition (ARC) Warning has been issued for Lake Freeman, as surface elevation levels as measured at the Oakdale Dam have gone below the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) required minimum operating level of 610.10 ft. and we are continuing to experience Abnormal River Conditions.

As of 6:26 a.m. ET on September 10, 2021, the surface elevation taken near the face of the Oakdale Hydroelectric Dam was measured at 609.7ft. below the normal operating target of 610.35ft. The change in surface elevation measured at the hydro does not reflect or equate to the same potential change in depth for other areas of the lake. Surface elevation is the relative measurement to sea level, local datum. A change of .01 ft in the surface elevation equates to 1/100th of a foot or .12 inches. NIPSCO does not measure average depths.

Currently, the 24-hour daily average for flow is 417 cubic feet per second (cfs) at the Buffalo USGS gauge and 282 cfs at the USGS Winamac gauge. An ARC event will be lifted once the 24-hour average rises above 410 cfs at Buffalo and the 24 hour average rises above 300 cfs at Winamac.

Please be mindful of your surroundings and be aware of any submerged objects in or underneath the surface of the water. Due to the water levels, objects such as tree stumps, old dock pilings and such may start to show or become a hazard to boat operators, swimmers, and tubers.

Without additional rainfall, depths could continue to be reduced. Current information may be found at www.nipscohydro.com.

An Abnormal River Condition (ARC) Watch has been issued for Lake Freeman, as one of the following conditions has occurred: the previous day’s 24-hour average for flows at the Buffalo USGS gauge dropped to 410 cubic feet per second (cfs) or below; or the previous day’s 24 hour daily average for flows at the Winamac USGS gauge dropped to 300 cfs or below.

As of 6:22 am ET, on September 7, 2021, the 24-hour daily average at the Buffalo USGS gauge is 503 cfs and the 24-hour daily average at the Winamac USGS gauge is 295 cfs.

The surface elevation taken near the face of the Oakdale Hydroelectric Dam was measured at 609.9 ft. below the normal operating target of 610.35ft.

The change in surface elevation measured at the hydro does not reflect or equate to the same potential change in depth for other areas of the lake. Surface elevation is the relative measurement to sea level, local datum. A change of .01 ft in the surface elevation equates to 1/100th of a foot or .12 inches. NIPSCO does not measure average depths.

Please be mindful of your surroundings and aware of any submerged objects in or underneath the surface of the water. Due to the water levels, objects such as tree stumps, old dock pilings and such may start to show or become a hazard to boat operators, swimmers, and tubers.

Without additional rainfall, depths could continue to be reduced. Current information may be found at www.nipscohydro.com.

Current conditions and measurements taken along the Tippecanoe River and Lake Freeman appear to be approaching potential Abnormal River Conditions (ARC).

At this time, lake levels have not been impacted, nor do the current flow rates serve as a predictor that abnormal river conditions will necessarily occur or that lake levels will be impacted.

An ARC event is not triggered until the USGS Buffalo gauge shows a discharge reading of 410 cfs or lower (24-hour average) or Winamac discharges read 300 cfs or less (24-hour average).

Should flows upstream from Lake Freeman continue to decrease, NIPSCO will follow the protocols provided in the Updated Technical Assistance Letter (TAL) issued by US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) on September 7^th, 2018, resulting in the following actions:

·        NIPSCO will maintain a discharge rate of either: 1.39 times the flow of the previous 24-hour daily average flow measured at the USGS Buffalo gauge or 500 cfs through the Oakdale Dam, whichever is less
·        White County EMA alert will be issued to those subscribed for the service
·        NIPSCO and White County EMA will issue a joint safety press release
·        An update alert will be posted on www.nipscohydro.com

We will continue to keep you posted with any updates.

In regards to our continued fight on the Lake Freeman lake level issue, FERC has requested USFW to address the “minor” issue that the District Court mandated FERC resolve. FERC issued a letter to USFW and posted it on the FERC elibrary:

https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/filelist?accession_num=20210830-3055

The SFLECC Annual Meeting was held on Saturday, August 28th. The three outgoing directors this year were Lee Anderson, Kent Kiester, and Grant Martin. Incoming directors are Todd Lemen, Rick Stetler, and Jack Werner. Congratulations and thank you to all who have and continue to serve on our Board!

The SFLECC Annual Meeting will be held on Saturday, August 28th at 10 am in the Benjamin Pavilion at the Monticello City Park. Five board positions will be filled at the meeting. Only members* of the SFLECC are entitled to vote. Directors must be legal residents of the State of Indiana.

*Members of the corporation consist of persons who have a paid current Shore Front License or have made a donation twice the amount of a standard Shore Front License during the calendar year. They could also be a recorded member of an association with a paid current Shore Front License. Members are encouraged to attend this meeting.

Congratulations to the Waverunner Raffle Winner, Kit Caster of Monticello! Thank you to all who entered and we look forward to hopefully doing it again next summer!