An example of a healthy shoreline.

News Release

NORTH WEBSTER — The Watershed Foundation is offering Healthy Shorelines Initiative Grants to residents of Center, Chapman, Pike and Winona lakes.

What are healthy shorelines?

The accepted norm on many of the lakes is to have a mowed lawn up to the edge of a concrete seawall. Concrete seawalls are not natural or healthy for lakes. In fact, it disrupts the critical ribbon of life on lake shorelines, creates added wave action, and stirs up the bottom sediments. Sedimentation is the suspension of nutrients and material in lakes, which is one of the main reasons for algae growth, green muck and fish scarcity in lakes.

Healthy shorelines (and adjacent lawns) have an abundance of plants both on the land and in the water. Glacial stone (or rock) seawalls are an improvement over concrete because they help slow wave action. Natural shorelines can also be beautiful and easy to maintain without interfering with recreation.

Examples of projects under the TWF Healthy Shorelines Initiative include stone refacing of concrete seawalls, bioengineered seawalls and glacial stone seawalls.

The Healthy Shorelines Initiative provides grant assistance of up to $1,000 to homeowners for shoreline projects that improve water quality and shoreline habitat, while reducing erosion and decreasing runoff.

To be eligible, the project site must be located on Center, Chapman, Pike, or Winona Lake, and the applicant must pay at least 25% of the total cost of the project. Applications are available on the TWF website, and the application deadline is Aug. 1.

For more information contact The Watershed Foundation at [email protected] or (574) 834-3242. For more information about Healthy Shorelines and how TWF takes action for healthy lakes visit WatershedFoundation.org and click “Take Action.”