Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources hosted a reception for the 60 th anniversary of Monroe Lake Thursday afternoon.
The celebration of the anniversary of the reservoir’s dedication took place in the tailwater area beneath the dam and featured displays of historical items and photos, self-guided tours of the dam, and more.
Dan Bortner, director of Indiana DNR, said the reservoir, commonly called Lake Monroe, has become a major fixture in the lives of nearby Hoosiers.
“Now, at 60 wonderful years, it's a place with generational impact, where parents, children and grandchildren alike have shared formative experiences growing up here,” he said.
Constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1964 at a cost of $16.5 million, the reservoir was designed to prevent flood damage downstream and to serve as the primary water source for the city of Bloomington.
Read more: Are there people buried under Lake Monroe?
At the event, Bortner said the reservoir is capable of holding 143 billion gallons of water, enough to cover all of Monroe and Brown counties in a foot of water.
Mike Chaveas, supervisor of Hoosier National Forest with the U.S. Forest Service, spoke about the various projects happening in the watershed around the lake, including the Houston South Vegetation Management and Restoration Project, which seeks to perform controlled burns in the area.
Environmental groups have sued the forest service three times over worries that the burns will affect the quality of Monroe Lake, but Chaveas said at the event that similar projects in the state of New York have actually ended up improving water quality.
“They did so by investing upstream in the watershed, in tools that would keep forests healthy, and in management actions to promote the sustainable uses of forest and keeping forest as forest for the long term,” he said.
An Army Corp. of Engineers spokesperson said that thanks to the dam, an estimated $124 million in flood damage has been prevented to downstream areas.
Read more: How is Lake Monroe protected from chemical, biological and physical toxins?
