Bob Oaks with daughter Eileen Oaks, marketing and outreach director for The Watershed Foundation (Photos by Michelle Reed)

LEESBURG — The Watershed Foundation held a reception at the Tippy Creek Winery, Thursday, June 30, to talk about how to protect and improve water quality of Kosciusko lakes and streams and why it matters.

The Watershed Foundation laid out appetizers and offered a wine tasting, while explaining the importance of protecting and improving water quality in Kosciusko County Lakes to the audience and the importance of the Clean Waters Partnership.

The foundation has partnered with the Center Lakes & Streams, the cities of Warsaw and Winona Lake, the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce, Zimmer Biomet, Emergency Management Departments, The Recycling Depot and many more.

The Clean Waters Partnership was created to develop a watershed management plan for the area and gather and examine data, with input from the community, and implement an action plan to accomplish improvements.

The Watership Foundation Executive Director Lyn Crighton explained, during a short slide presentation, that the entire watershed area encompasses 20-25 percent of the county and includes four major lakes: Pike, Center, Winona and Chapman, plus many smaller lakes and brings $313 million a year into the community.

RE/MAX Realtor Karin Hamilton mentioned the lakes being a high selling point and that they need to be kept pristine. She said, “Instead of being part of the problem, you have to be part of the solution. You’re either a giver or a taker,” she continued saying, “I want to be a giver.”

Toward the end of the event people turned in their pledge cards with donation amounts and prizes were given.