Master plan to guide Prairie Creek Reservoir finally under way
24.03.2010, 19:00
A master plan is finally being prepared to guide the long-term development and preservation of Prairie Creek Reservoir -- six years after such a plan was recommended.
Londoni szállodák
Delaware County residents consider the reservoir -- Indiana's 20th-largest lake -- one of the community's greatest assets, along with Ball State University, Ball Memorial Hospital, Cardinal Greenway and the Minnetrista cultural center.
The comprehensive plan adopted by city and county officials in 2000 called for a special study or master plan of the reservoir in 2002.
Work on the plan finally has started, including the mailing of a questionnaire to 1,500 randomly selected households in the county.
Dozens of questionnaires already have been returned. They indicate that many people believe the continued construction of housing around the 1,252-acre reservoir could threaten swimming, boating, fishing, water quality and wildlife at the recreational area.
During his 36 years as superintendent of the reservoir -- owned by Indiana-American Water Co. and leased by the city of Muncie as a park -- Ron Bonham has witnessed the construction of more and more housing and an increase in traffic.
"It's just natural," Bonham said. "People are drawn to water. They want to build close enough to the water to be able to see it. There have been a lot of big houses going up in the surrounding area."
So far, no waterfront development has been allowed.
Whether that prohibition should continue is one of the 26 questions on the questionnaire.
Others include whether people want the reservoir to become more residential, natural, agricultural, commercial or to stay the same; what type of development should be allowed, if any; what threatens the future of the reservoir; and whether the city should buy it from the water company. The city's lease expires in 2021.
"The big thing is to protect it after the lease expires," Bonham said, "and not let it become another Geist Reservoir with multi-million-dollar waterfront homes. People I talk to don't want that. They want nature trails and wildlife habitat."
Planners say the master plan will enhance the long-term ecological health of the reservoir and at the same time provide ample opportunity for human use of the man-made lake.
The plan is being written by Fred Daniel and Lorey Stinton, both GIS (geographic information system) planners with the city-county planning commission. Stinton began as an intern in the office in 2003 and started working full time last fall. She is completing a master's degree in landscape architecture. Daniel is a more experienced urban planning graduate.
They are being assisted by two urban planning graduate students from Ball State, a steering committee, and the White River Watershed Project, which is contributing $6,500.
In the summer of 2003, Marta Moody, director of the planning commission, said the master plan for the reservoir hadn't started because of other projects, such as studies of a countywide network of walking and biking paths, The Village commercial and residential district near Ball State, and the feasibility of completing the Muncie Bypass around the western side of the city.
"The Prairie Creek study is one that we're going to try to do in 2004, though I'd like to start it yet this year," Moody said in 2003.
Asked last week why the reservoir plan hadn't been started sooner, Moody answered, "I'd say part of it is work load."
She also noted that in recent years the watershed project had conducted a study of water quality in the watershed containing the reservoir.
"The watershed project seemed to be the ideal partner to get the master plan done," Moody said.
The plan could be adopted by officials in May, June or July, after the questionnaires are returned and after public meetings.