Acton Lake: The Value, The Problems and The Solutions

This topic submitted by Tekk Adams, Lisa Headen, Kelly Markle, Brad Shumaker ( shumakbt@muohio.edu ) on 4/29/03. [ Rivers Team: Tekk Adams, Lisa Headen, Kelly Markle, Brad Shumaker-Section: Cummins/Kaufman]

Acton Lake: The Value, The Problems and The Solutions
Introduction:
Our project explored Acton Lake as a resource in three parts: why Acton Lake is a resource (and to whom Acton Lake is a resource), what is keeping Acton Lake from reaching its full potential as a resource and what solutions are being implemented to make Acton Lake reach that potential.
A good place to start this discussion is by exploring the meaning of the word resource. A resource can be valued in two ways: instrumentally and intrinsically. Instrumental use is the way that humans actually get their hands in the resource. Intrinsic ÒuseÓ speaks to the value that humans place on the spiritual or aesthetic components of a resource.
We believe that a resource is anything that fulfills a human need. According to Abraham Maslow there are five basic human needs: physiological (or body needs), safety, social, esteem and self-actualization. Acton Lake and its uses, we hypothesized, easily fit into many need categories. Physiological needs are the most basic needs for life; food, water, shelter and so on. Acton Lake can provide food and water, the Hueston Woods Lodge can provide shelter. Acton Lake provides security for the hundreds of employees at Hueston Woods, ensuring that food will be put on the table everyday. Acton Lake fulfills social needs by acting as a meeting place for people. Acton Lake provides that room for many people to Òself actualizeÓ and reach their full potential. It gives the painter something to paint, the poet something to write about, and the teacher a subject of work (http://web.utk.edu/~gwynne/maslow.html).
Resources are not perfect. Acton Lake is not reaching its full potential as a human resource because of environmental problems, mainly sedimentation and agricultural run-off. By exploring these problems as well as the many potential solutions to these problems we are better able to understand and appreciate the value of Acton Lake.
Relevance

ÒThoreau... believed that his careful observation of other species helped him to live a better life. I believe this also. So there are at least two people, and perhaps many others, who believe that species have value as a moral resource to humans, as a chance for humans to form, re-form, nd improve their own value systems (Norton 1988: 201).Ó

-Norton, Bryan (1992). "Epistemology and Environmental Value." Monist 75: 208-26

It is important to understand why looking at a resource from an intrinsic value standpoint is important. We feel that resources are not merely instrumental, but that the instrumentality of resources is constantly harped on (ie ÒYou can fish at Acton Lake, you can swim in Acton Lake, you can get a job at Acton LakeÓ). Intrinsic value is just as important, if not more important from a philosophical standpoint, as instrumental value.
We felt that first hand accounts about peopleÕs interactions with the lake would show that an intrinsic value of nature does exist and for that reason alone we as humans should continue trying to stop the degradation of the natural world. As far as the study of degradation to the natural world we focused on Best Management Practices (BMPs) revolving around the cause of and prevention too agricultural runoff.

A great deal of work has been done on both the study of natureÕs intrinsic value and the general studies about the improvement of management practices concerning agricultural runoff. One example of a study which purported that the value of nature was not just instrumental but intrinsic and moral as well occurred when a man named Edwin P. Pister, a now-retired Associate Fishery Biologist with the California Department of Fish and Game, came across a rare species of fish that lived in the desert. This particular species known as Devil's Hole pupfish seemed to be showing signs that it was close to extinction due to the pumping of groundwater that was to be used for irrigation that was being done in the area. As Mr. Pister began doing work on this project to save the desert fish he was often confronted by family, friends, and later funders of the project with the question, ÒWhat good is the fish anyway?Ó This question implies that no organism has the right to be alive or exist unless they can offer some instrumental value. Faced with this question Pister found himself without a clear-cut answer. Finally, Pister found a way to put the concept of intrinsic value across clearly. To the question ÒWhat good is it?Ó he replied, ÒWhat good are you?Ó The basic principles of human societal existence rest on this question. Everyone alive likes to think that they have some sort of instrumental value to society or other individuals, but the reality is that not everyone does. However those people still are given the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This totally flaws the concept that implies; without instrumental value there is no worth. Humanity is based on the idea that we all as humans do in fact have intrinsic value, and if this is true for us it should apply to other organisms as well. Pister spent a great deal of time focusing and clarifying his theories.
However regardless of how you define a resource (intrinsically or instrumentally) it is of the utmost importance to understand how to preserve a resource.
In addition to studies done on intrinsic value there are countless studies conducted concerning the testing of BMPs and their relationship to environmental degradation. One of the more hot topics recently in regards to BMPs is the concept of no-till soil conservation. No-till farming is the negation of tilling the soil. Doing this leaves some roots and debris still on the soil after harvest. The idea behind this is to create anchors into the soil holding it in place to avoid major erosion. This practice has exploded in South America as well as many other places all over the world.
A case study was conducted in Paraguay about the increase use of no-till farming. In recent years no-till has become more and more popular but it was difficult for the study team in this case study to determine exactly how many small farmers were actually using no-till in a regular basis. The DEAG, the Paraguayan version of the Environmental Protection Agency, estimates about 420 permanent small farmers use no-till, while a little over 1,500 use no-till on occasion. The main procedures used were in a four-step process as follows:

I. All secondary sources of data relevant to small farming systems in the three areas selected for the study were analyzed. The most recently available agricultural census (Census Agropecuario Nacional 1991), Sinteses Estadisticas for the years, 1992/93-1996/97 and MAG-GTZ (1996), provided insightful information and data.
II. In-depth interviews with experienced extensionists in each of the districts studied to define the most representative small farm systems.
III. Typical farmers of the most representative farming systems were selected by the local extensionists for in-depth informal interviews by the study team. Interviews mostly took half to one day to complete with each farmer.
IV. Data obtained from the in-depth interviews were analyzed by describing the farming system and by preparing detailed crop budgets and complete farm budgets of each farming system. Wherever possible temporal analysis of data was carried out to study the impact over time of no-till and conventional cultivation.
http://www.fao.org/ag/AGS/AGSE/agse_e/5to/sorrens/contents.htm
These procedures reflect a great number of similarities with the experiment conducted by our group concerning best management practices around Four Mile. No-till directly effects runoff and sediment deposit, which is one of the biggest problems in Acton Lake.

Our project exhibits many components of many other projects that were done previously. One unique quality that our project shows is the fact that it is interdisciplinary and deals with ideas revolving around human, nature, and solutions to environmental degradation in a very holistic way. All of the truly important areas involving the importance of nature and why we should take such an involved stance on improving it are touched upon in this project. We have integrated ideas concerning intrinsic verse instrumental environmental value, environmental problems, and some potential solutions. This is the manner in which things actually occur in the world and that is the reason more of these issues should be looked at in a more interdisciplinary way. That is the only true way to identify and solve many of the problems we are faced with.
The information we have gathered is extremely useful in terms of later use. The interviews we have put together trying to show intrinsic value can be used and built upon to truly show that ideas of intrinsic value really do exist and on a very local level. That idea moralizes many of the issues surrounding Acton Lake and Four-Mile Creek. The information we have gathered concerning different types of BMPs that could be used in this area can definitely and hopefully will be used to build off of in the future. All of the researched ideas were practical and worth looking at more closely.

Materials
Digital camera
Various research books
Internet
Journal Articles
Pamphlets
Interviewees

Methods
Analyzing the Data

Analyzing our given data was a daunting task. The sedimentation data was given to us in a spreadsheet containing numbers from 1994 through 2001. The data (meters cubed per second) were recorded every hour of every day during the seven year span. In order to recognize the significance of the given data we averaged every number until we had broken the whole data sheet down into 3 month intervals displaying seasonal sedimentation averages. This gave us a graph that displayed seasonal flux of sediment, which turned out to be displayed easily. The other data that we received had been taken and broken down already several times over by Bill Renwick. He explained that the data was so inconsistent that he had to sift through it in order to gather all the significant data. Once this was done he proceeded to put the given numbers through statview trying to find some statistical significance, but hasnÕt been able to do so, up to date. This left us with the interpretation of the graph that was created by the data that he had sifted through. The actual data itself that was used to create the graph was irrelevant not showing any statistical significance. The graph displayed conservation till and the percentages in which they were being implemented concerning specific crops in the area.

Interviewing

1. Ryan Smith- an employee of the Butler County Soil and Water District. Early twenties. Earns a living by constructing grass waterways through farmerÕs land to catch sediment. Claims that this waterway will catch 90% of sediment. Basically an expert on government involvement with sedimentation and agricultural run-off.
2. Bob Harris- local organic farmer. Early eighties. Earns a living by growing natural vegetables and reaping profits from his family farm (which he no longer runs). Claims that many sedimentation and agricultural run-off problems are the effect of conventional farming.
3. Bill Renwick- geology professor at Miami University. Has been here for decades. Pivots research around Acton lake and the Four Mile Creek watershed. Has been taking measurements in this lake every hour for over eight years.
4. Bill Lodder- groundskeeper at the Hueston Woods Golf Course. Early fifties. Has worked for the park district for twenty years. Believes strongly in value of Hueston Woods.
5. Jordan Tate- advanced photography student who now teaches elementary
photography classes. Early twenties. Believes that every photographer begins in nature photography because itÕs Òso damn pretty.Ó Discusses the aesthetic value of Acton Lake.
Dr. Renwick who has been conducting research in the area for ten years. Basically we wanted to use the scientific data to understand how sediment flow and agricultural run-off have changed over time.
Results
Interviews were conducted with a number of people who covered the e value spectrum. People commented on their ideas of the lakeÕs intrinsic and instrumental value. Also we gathered information about the environmental changes in the Four Mile Creek watershed over decades. The data we used to track these trends was supplied by Dr. Renwick who has been conducting research in the area for ten years. Basically we wanted to use the scientific data to understand how sediment flow and agricultural run-off have changed over time. One data set was a monitoring system that recorded sediment movement in meters cubed per second once every hour for eight years. This data can give us an idea as to the possible implications of the implementation of the no-till advisory and other counter sedimentation actions. This no-till advisory was announced in the late 90s and, as shown on the graph (Fig-1), there is a slight dip in the sediment movement during that period. This could be interpreted to signify that the advisory and other strategies had direct positive effects on the amount of sediment.
Fig 1 Ð An hourly monitor took a reading every hour since 1994 on the amount of sediment that traveled from Four-Mile Creek into Acton Lake measured in meters cubed per second.

In addition to the actual sediment loads that were decreased due to the no-till advisory we also found that during the late 90s there was a huge upheaval of conservation and conventional till (fig2), which are similar in nature to no-till. This improvement of tillage style could have been directly effected by the no-till advisory.

Note: We realize that this data is shaky and a bit thin, however this is an honest reflection of the information available about the long-term sedimentation and agricultural flow into Acton Lake. In discussion with Renwick, he states that much of his data, when thrown through StatView makes little sense. This is the best that heÕs been able to make of it and we donÕt pretend to be able to do any better. We also considered supplementing this data with information taken by other rivers groups during the semester but ultimately donÕt see any scientific value in doing this because it does not offer enough of a long term picture to fit into our project frame.
Discussion and Conclusion
When our group began this project we envisioned a study of value. ÒHow is the lake valuable and to whom?Ó we asked ourselves, certain that we could label our project as interdisciplinary so long as it tied together several differing perspectives. However, in our opinion, the focus of our project has shifted from a study of value to a study of the conservation of a valuable resource. The value concept just did not fly because there was not the proper depth in the question. Of course people value Acton Lake; it was created in the fifties as a place to be valued (White, 4/03). People value Acton Lake recreationally, people value Acton Lake aesthetically, people value Acton Lake financially. We could probably find people who value Acton Lake religiously! These connections are not hard to make, nor do they necessarily open themselves up for deep analysis. Upon realizing this, our project changed. However we do not see this change as a weakness, but rather as the learning process in action.
When we did narrow our field and find an area of study, we explored the answers to three questions:
1. ÒWhy do people value Acton Lake?Ó
2. ÒWhat problems is Acton Lake experiencing?Ó
3. ÒWhat are some potential solutions to those problems?Ó
Step One: Exploring Value
When we asked ÒWhy do people value Acton LakeÓ we had a number of ready hypotheses. And, simply put, they all ended up being true. Jordan Tate, a Western senior with a focus in photography who teaches a photography sprint course, stated in his interview that people experimenting in photography love Acton Lake. ÒI see thousands of pictures of Acton Lake,Ó he said unequivocally, Òand lakes are a bastard to photograph.Ó They are a bastard because the lighting is funky, the trees are chopped off unnaturally by the waterline and it is hard to get proper framing with such a large body of water. Nonetheless, people drive the fifteen minutes to snap photos of the lake confirming our hypothesis that Acton Lake is an aesthetic resource for the Oxford community. It would be interesting to understand why people are so naturally drawn to the lake; is it because we are taught that nature is beautiful when we are young or because most people (unlike Jordan) do not mind the chopped off trees? However these kinds of questions were outside of the scope for this project.
We hypothesized that people would value Acton Lake for the research opportunities, and it proved to be true. William Renwick, a professor in the geology department, is hoping to publish ten years worth of data on Acton Lake. This is how he fulfills the research requirements necessary for a professor at Miami. If Acton Lake were not here, he would surely find another area to run tests and explore, however the lake is an academic resource for him and for the hundreds of kids (like us!) who do projects concerning the lake.
We hypothesized that the lake would be a financial resource and again this hypothesis was confirmed. Bill Lodder, groundskeeper of the Hueston Woods Golf Course said, ÒWeÕre called the Recreational Park Services, but thereÕs only one word that matters here: recreation.Ó Hueston Woods is a five star state park, a rank that entails an incredible amount of tourism and profit. The reason that Hueston Woods maintained this image is the lake. If the lake were not part of Hueston Woods, it is debatable whether or not Hueston Woods would even be a state park. It was enlightening for us to realize how much the lake creates the atmosphere for this natural place despite the fact that the lake is constructed by man. A map of the park alone speaks to the innate importance of the lake to the larger park; all of the parkÕs roads are built around it and all of the attractions are easily accessible from the lake and are located around the lake.
We hypothesized that Acton Lake would be important for filling a number of needs and this proved absolutely true. Acton Lake fulfills all kinds of needs identified by MaslowÕs hierarchy and even provides methods for people to move up the rungs to be more balanced and fulfilled. For the people who work at Acton Lake, it fulfills basic body needs by providing money for food and shelter. For people who better themselves by learning how to fish, swim or boat it fulfills ego needs. For people who go to Acton Lake to meditate, watch the sunrise or journal it is a vehicle for fulfilling spiritual needs. For people who go there to drink on the lakeside with a bunch of friends or go fishing at 12 a.m. in the full moon with friends (like James Tate) it fulfills social needs.

http://www.connect.net/georgen/maslow.htm
In short, we explored the various reasons why Acton Lake is important, however these reasons only enforced the bulk of our actual research which explored how Acton Lake is being environmentally protected.
Step Two: Problems for Acton Lake
Two major problems that Acton Lake is facing today (and have been for some time) are soil erosion and agricultural run-off. We did not plan on emphasizing these problems in our original project, however after they came up in Bill LodderÕs interview we realized that our study was incomplete without a brief exploration of these issues. Bill Lodder, the groundskeeper for Hueston Woods Golf Course said, ÒOh yeah, I know Acton Lake has been having some major problems with fish dying due to chemicalsÑbut believe me, it isnÕt the golf course fertilizer! Eighty percent of the land around here is agricultural, and that ends up being a lot of fertilizer dumped into the lake.Ó Bill had a topographical map of the area and showed us how the water flowed south from all of the farms in the area- straight into Acton Lake.
Bob Harris also mentioned water quality in his interview as he worried over a recent offer to build a dam on his property (more about that later!) The idea was that farmers could use the water from the dam to irrigate their property. As the owner of an organic farm, Harris was concerned that the water that would flow into his little dam area would be so riddled with fertilizers and pesticides that he could not use it to irrigate his land. He inquired as to the quality of the water and was curtly told that he could run his own tests if he was so curious. So he did. Harris found that the phosphate and nitrate levels of the water were too high to be fit for organic soil. He is rallying against the dam.
The interviews showed that all kinds of people were being affected- or at least forced to awareness- by the water quality of Acton Lake. That very water quality is being most strongly influenced by sedimentation and agricultural run-off.
Step Three: Solutions
Perhaps the most educational facet of the project for us was realizing that we were by far not the first people to identify and be concerned about these problems. The solutions to agricultural run-off and sedimentation are varied and many. We were very impressed by the history of these solutions, the present way of implementing solutions and the ways that the solutions being planned for the future. Originally, after interviewing Bob Harris, we planned on limiting our solution section to one: no till farming. Bob emphasized no till farming as an easy method of reducing erosion and run-off and vaguely mentioned that since a government act of the late nineties everyone in the Four Mile Watershed except organic farmers was required to farm no-till. He said that despite the act many people were not farming no-till, but that there was no clear way to implement the law. We were fascinated, however unfortunately we were also misinformed.
Upon further research we learned that no-till is just one of the many solutions to the sediment and agricultural-run off problems, and that no-till really was not revolutionary at all. We want to offer you a quick overview of the many solutions.
PAST
1. No Till- No till farming is a method where the tilling of the land does not take place before planting seeds. Instead the seeds are inserted into the land via a small metal tool that just digs out a spot for the seed. The thought is that by breaking up as little of the soil as possible less erosion will take place. Bob Harris, the organic farmer who we interviewed, believes that no-till is less healthy for organically farmed land because it doesnÕt make the soil soft enough to accept the seed. In a contrasting view, Ryan Smith of the Butler County Soil and Water Conservation District asserts that most of the farmers he knows Ògo no-till and never go back,Ó (Smith, 4/03).

2. Clay Tiling- According to Ryan Smith farmers in the 1940Õs used to dig by hand five foot pits and lay huge clay tiles into the ground. The tiles held the water closer to surface of the ground and allow evaporation to occur more readily. This way less water pulled the soil apart and prevented mass erosion.

PRESENT

1. Black Plastic Tiling- Black plastic tiles are inlaid by machine where the clay tiles used to go. These tiles help route the water to shallow pools on the side of the field where the water can evaporate more readily and thus prevent erosion. This current method is an improvement on the clay tile method of the past.
2. Sediment Pools- Ryan White took us to a large sediment pool about three miles away from Acton Lake in the middle of a bunch of fields. The entire purpose of this lake is to catch sediment. When the lake is full it will be abandoned and another temporary lake will be created. Four of these lakes exist in Butler County presently, there are plans for thirteen more. White estimates that each lake costs $40,000-$50,000 dollars. The entire cost is picked up by the government.
3. Terraced Farming- White highlighted this as a method of controlling the way that water flows across a field. Basically some crops are raised on higher ground than others and the run off from the higher fields is manipulated to fertilize and irrigate the lower fields.
4. Grass waterways- this is WhiteÕs speciality! A water way is placed like a green jetty into a field. The angle and width of the waterway is exacting and it is placed along the channels where water normally seeps out. The grass roots suck up the water and use them to create more grass. The jetty also leads the water to a pipe where it is distributed into the watershed in a controlled way. White estimates that 90% of sedimentation can be controlled through this method. 90% of the cost for these expensive waterways is picked up by the government. The only qualification to get one in your field is an 8-9 ton loss (approximately 4 pick-up trucks worth) of topsoil per season due to erosion.

FUTURE
1. Man made wetlands surrounding Acton Lake
2. A series of 20 dams creating little ponds throughout the watershed- this is a government plan. We know very little about it, but believe that itÕs legitamitely happening because both Bob Harris and Ryan White mentioned it during their interviews. The concept is much like the sediment lakes; the ponds will each catch a bit of sediment thus reducing the overall amount that is poured into Acton Lake and the rest of the watershed dramatically.

Conclusion

The value of Acton Lake is entirely obvious and very admirable. Acton Lake is an important community resource and is definitely worth protecting and maintaining. There are several problems in terms of maintaining Acton Lake, soil erosion and agricultural run-off are two of them. These problems have been around a long time and, although they may lessen, will probably continue as long as the %80 of the land is used for farming.
The solutions to the problems are many! There are several different organizations involved in providing solutions and the federal government seems to be the leader. Therefore much of the aid for the Four Mile Creek watershed (and therefore Acton Lake) is entirely dependent on what goes on in an office miles and miles away from Acton Lake. WeÕve learned that we really have no conception of how many people are involved in the restoration process and that the big picture is much more complex than we originally thought. WeÕve learned that we really donÕt know that much, ironically enough. But through our project we have become more in tune with reality and taken our learning out of the classroom and into the fields surrounding Acton Lake.

Works Sited
1. Brenner, A. J.; Bush, L. A.; Martin, J. S.; Olsson, K. Y.; Rentscheler, P. L.; Wolf, J.
The Huron River Watershed Council: grassroots organization for holistic watershed management. Water Science and Technology Volume: 39, Issue: 12, 1999, pp. 331 - 337.
The Huron River Watershed case study is that explains why the Huron River Watershed is one of the most successful restoration processes ever. They delve into issues concerning non-governmental organization and volunteer work and how they are integral to the development of a working watershed protection design.
2. Conservation Choices. US Department of Agriculture. 1998.
This pamphlet given by the USDA examines different ecosystem management, and within each ecosystem it talks of different management plans. It describes how each BMP works and describes positives and negatives of each.
3. Corbett, Christopher W.; Wahl, Matthew; Porter, Dwayne e.; Edwards, Don; Moise,
Claudia. Nonpoint source runoff modeling a comparison of a forested watershed and an urban watershed on the South Carolina coast. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology Volume: 213, Issue: 1, June 1, 1997, pp. 133-149.
This article describes water quality and physical attributes of two different watersheds; one a forested watershed and the other an urbanized watershed. Each is related to our watershed because Four Mile Creek Watershed and most of its estuaries are either urban or forested. It's another great case study article that will give us more background information.
4 & 5. Does Wilderness Have Intrinsic Value?
We will use the following two articles to analyze the perspectives for the humanities section of our project. The two were placed together in the NS reader last semester, and seem well suited to stay together for the purposes of our project.
Bass, Rick. On Wilderness and Wallace Stegner. The Amicus Journal. Spring. 1997.
Tucker, William. Is Nature Too Good for Us? HarperÕs Magazine. March. 1982
6. Green, William J. and William H. Newell. Defining and Teaching Interdisciplinary
Studies. Improving College and University Teaching .Winter. 1982: 23-30.
This article has already benefited our project by clarifying the definition of interdisciplinary studies. We will consult it periodically to make sure that our project is following the guidelines for interdisciplinarity outlined in the article.
7. Hardin, Garrett. The Tragedy of the Commons. Science 162. December 1968:
1243-1248.
This article seems as though it may provide the philosophical base for the humanities section of our project. We will use the logic base of this article to explain why people should work together- perhaps even against their own immediate interests- for the ultimate betterment of Four Mile Creek.
8. Harris. Bob. Personal Interview. 3/11/03.
Harris is a local organic farmer who has been certified organic for over ten years. He is extremely environmentally conscious.
9. Heal, Geoffrey. Nature and the Marketplace. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2000.
This book is basically about looking at nature as a commodity. It seems to come from a purely business background. We will read chapters like Valuation and Policies and Institutions to enlighten our discussion of the value of Four Mile Creek in terms of numbers and bottom lines.
10. Lodder, Bill. Personal Interview. 3/19/03.
Lodder is a groundskeeper at Hueston Woods and understands both the intrinsic and instrumental values circling around Acton Lake. His input reaches both sides of our study.
11. Petersen, Mark M... A natural approach to watershed planning, restoration and
management. Water Science and Technology Volume: 39, Issue 12, 1999, pp. 347 - 352.
This Journal article describes component landforms that exist in a watershed. It describes that landforms functions and possible failures of the functions. It also sites a case study in Utah as to wear actions discussed in the article have been implemented and worked.
12. Renwick, Bill. Personal interview. 3/25/03.
Bill Renwick is a geography professor at Miami University and has done field-testing around the Four-Mile Creek and Acton Lake area of decades. His data and interview is integral to the scientific aspect of out project.
13. Smith