Fisheries impacted by sediments released from a reservoir

The Fawn River in Indiana is a controlled stream which principally flows through a small reservoir in the Town of Orland.  The river flows essentially from the east approximately 5 miles and empties into the Greenfield Mill Pond to the west.  Historical descriptions of the bottom indicate the upper half of the river consisted of a gravel and the lower half consisted of gravel and sand.  On  May 18, 1998 sediment was discharged from behind the dam. The riparian landowners filed suit in the U.S. District Court’s for violation of the Clean Water Act Section 404 and were successful.  As a Court appointed neutral, several  investigations were performed in the Fawn River to answer two basic questions; has the river been impacted by the hatchery activities (defined as the sediment release on May 18, 1998) and what remedy can be implemented to restore the river to “Pre-event” conditions?  The investigations were performed to define sediment structure in supply pond and downstream habitat, and the structure of the fish community and benthic macroinvertebrates.  In addition, a sediment oxygen demand study was performed to assess habitat conditions created by sediments released from the upstream reservoir. This paper presents the findings of the investigations and proposed remedy.