KOSCIUSKO COUNTY — This past June was the wettest June ever recorded for the county’s lakes. On average, before and during June, water clarity in local lakes was the highest, while later in the summer, the clarity decreased substantially. Our center observed this trend in our research results from our local lake sampling as well. Here are the results from just a few of the lakes in our county:

With winter finally over, Kosciusko County residents can finally begin looking forward to summer events including the Lakes Festival. The Northern Indiana Lakes Festival is the region’s largest lake education event. The official website at www.lakesfestival.org is being updated daily as we approach the June 6-15 festival dates. There are many events you can register for …read more.

WINONA LAKE, Ind. – To keep up with program growth, Kosciusko Lakes and Streams was renamed the Center for Lakes & Streams at Grace College. The renaming was part of a more extensive rebranding effort that included a new website and logo. “Our mission will remain the same: making the lakes and streams of Kosciusko …read more.

A research study on Wawasee and Syracuse lake levels during the drought of 2012 has been completed and Kosciusko Lakes and Streams has released its findings. In short, “Lake levels were likely affected by residential irrigation in 2012, though groundwater inputs to the lake likely compensated for some of the losses.” Dr. Nate Bosch, director …read more.

Wawasee Property Owners Association’s president Kay Young presented a $5,000 donation to Dr. Nathan Bosch, director of Kosciusko Lakes and Streams on Thursday. The donation from the WPOA will be used by KLAS to further their local educational programs and continue in caring for area lakes. WPOA also recently sponsored a KLAS lake aquarium in …read more.

Kosciusko Leadership Academy met at the Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation to learn about Aquatic Ecology in Kosciusko County. Nathan Bosch, Ph.D., director of Kosciusko Lakes and Streams, shared there are 114 lakes In Kosciusko Count including those with two or more acres. There are 106 lakes of 5 or more acres in our county. Kosciusko …read more.

Kosciusko Lakes and Streams Center at Grace College has found a way to connect local students with the lakes that are in their community – by bringing a small part of those lakes into the students classrooms. KLAS sets up aquariums in classrooms so students can get an up close view of bluegill, catfish, pumpkinseed …read more.

WINONA LAKE, Ind. – The Kosciusko Lakes and Streams center at Grace College has received a $40,100 grant to conduct an E. coli assessment at the public swimming beaches in Warsaw. The grant was awarded by the K21 Health Foundation. E. coli is a bacteria known to cause digestive problems, urinary tract infections and other …read more.

Anna Burke, Kosciusko Lakes & Streams program manager, spoke at the General Membership Meeting of the Builders Association Kosciusko Fulton Counties at Champagne Jam. Information was provided on water quality, water in the classrooms project, lake water testing, and landscaping with natural plants. Members were given the 10 ways to keep our lakes and streams …read more.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IROtewez8M] Kosciusko Lakes and Streams, which is Grace College’s water research center, hosted the fifth annual Northern Indiana Lakes Festival over the weekend. The festival took place in Warsaw and Winona Lake Friday through Sunday, June 7-9. “The lakes are vital to our economy, environment, recreation and our very sense of community. The Lakes …read more.

The Kosciusko Lakes and Streams center at Grace College announced the winners of the 2013 Wonderful Water Student Art Contest this week. KLAS challenged county fourth- through 12th-grade students to create a one-dimensional piece of art capturing the wonder of the lakes and streams. Artwork was judged on creativity, artistic merit, compatibility of any wildlife …read more.

The Tippecanoe Lake Chain, Lake Wawasee and Syracuse Lake were among 17 projects receiving grant money for a sediment removal plan and funds awarded to remove a logjam in the Tippecanoe River. The local grants totaled $63,000. The Department of Natural Resources grants totaling more than $850,000 will fund removal of sediment and logjams from …read more.

Kosciusko Lakes and Streams hosted four schools of fourth-graders today at Pike Lake for their biannual field day, “Our Lakes, Our Treasures.” Student volunteers from Grace College taught fourth-graders from Jefferson, Harrison, Milford and Warsaw Christian Schools about the importance of protecting the lakes and streams in Kosciusko County. “Anywhere they go, they’re going to …read more.

Julie Martin’s third-grade classroom at Eisenhower Elementary School recently became home to an aquarium of local fish. Part of the Lake in the Classroom program operated by Grace College’s Kosciusko Lakes and Streams center, this marks the 20th aquarium placed in a Kosciusko County school or community center this school year. That’s more than they’ve …read more.

Grace College’s Kosciusko Lakes and Streams center received $25,000 from Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. to promote water resource education. KLAS will use the money to improve and expand its efforts to increase environmental literacy in Kosciusko County and the northern Indiana region. “It’s encouraging to get such a prestigious grant award from a large, well-known …read more.

Warsaw is the only MS4 community in Kosciusko County and that designation means the city is mandated to follow guidelines set by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. Municipal Separate Stormwater Sewer Systems – also known as MS4 programs – are defined “as a conveyance or system of conveyances owned by a state, city, town or …read more.

Area students are using a unique way to raise awareness of our lakes and streams. They’re using our local waterways to inspire their art for a new calendar. The calendar promotes good stewardship of our lakes and streams. Young artists in fourth through 12th grades study the lakes and streams in person or through photographs …read more.

In an effort to get Tippecanoe River cleared of debris, a meeting was held last week to discuss clean up efforts. Today, the Kosciusko County Commissioners heard the results of that meeting. Last Thursday, Kosciusko Lakes and Streams hosted a meeting, along with the county’s emergency management office and representatives from Lake Tippecanoe, regarding the …read more.

Ever have trouble finding which Kosciusko County beaches are closed due to high E. coli levels or wonder when they reopen? A new beach alert system will allow people to get this information immediately via website, email or text message. Kosciusko Lakes and Streams (KLAS), the Kosciusko County Health Department and K21 Health Foundation are …read more.

The K21 Health Foundation has awarded Kosciusko Lakes and Streams $200,000 to be used toward lake and stream research in Kosciusko County, focusing on blue-green algae. “Lakes and streams are vital to the community. We want to acknowledge how important water is to the health of residents in Kosciusko County. We’re thrilled to renew our …read more.