Spring 2017
What is a Watershed?
A watershed is an area of land that drains to a common point, such as a nearby creek, stream, river or lake. Every small watershed drains to a larger watershed that eventually flows to the ocean. Watersheds support a wide variety of plants and wildlife and provide many outdoor recrea- tion opportunities. By protecting the health of our watersheds we can preserve and enhance the quality of life for Wonder Lake area residents.
What is stormwater runoff?
Stormwater is water from rain or melting snow. It flows from rooftops, over paved streets, sidewalks and parking lots, across bare soil, and through lawns and storm drains. As it flows, runoff collects and transports soil, pet waste, salt, pesticides, fertilizer, oil and grease, litter and other pollutants. This water drains directly into nearby creeks, streams and rivers, without receiving treatment at sewage plants. Polluted stormwater contaminates streams, rivers and lakes. It can kill or damage plants, fish and wildlife, while degrading the quality of our water.
FACTS ABOUT STREAM CORRIDORS Streams are among the most important natural resources. Streams and the natural corridors along them, provide a number of important environ- mental services that contribute to making our region a quality place to live. Whether you have a stream running through your backyard, business, local school, or park, protecting them with stream buffers is a good idea. A stream buffer is a protected zone within a stream corridor. This zone includes the stream bank, a vegetated area, and much of the floodplain. Within the buffer it is important to maintain native vegetation, avoid activities that disturb the habitats, and prevent harmful dumping. Stream corridors provide vital networks for wildlife and help filter out pollutants. Streams surrounded by a healthy mix of vegetation including grasses, shrubs and trees buffer the effects of surrounding land uses, which might otherwise harm water quality.
CLEAN WATER – HEALTHY LIFE. WHAT’S THE PROBLEM? Many property owners may not realize that what they do on their land impacts neighborhoods, stream habitats and water quality downstream. The condition of land that surrounds streams directly affects property values, the health of the stream and the well-being and safety of citizens. Streams ae dynamic systems that change over time, according to the condition of the land around them. Every stream has two components: the water flowing through it and the land beneath and around it. Good stream corridor stewardship maintains the health of both components to enhance the strength, shape and quality of a stream over time. Landscaping and dumping are two areas where land owners can have the biggest impact on streams and stream corridors. Landscaping with non-native plants and mowing to the edges of streams eliminates natural plants and bushes, damaging root systems that hold soil in place. This damage results in destabilized stream banks, degraded water quality, and loss of natural habitats. Trash and litter on stream banks is unsightly, unsanitary, and unsafe for humans and wildlife. Even organic material such as yard waste, food stuffs and leaves is unacceptable to dump along stream banks. When these materials get into the stream cycle, they decompose and eliminate critical, life-giving oxygen from the water. As a result, streams become unsightly and emit foul odors.
What can you do? Don’t mow up to the edge of a stream. Plant native grasses, plants, bushes and trees. Keep litter out of streams.
A Few Important Reminders: * Please remember that the water service line from the water main to your building is the responsibility of the owner/renter according to the Village Ordinance #350. If you suspect a leak on the service line, contact the Vil- lage Hall at (815) 728-0839 or the water department at 1-866-371-5699 to verify a problem. Leaks need immedi- ate attention and sometimes go unnoticed for months. *Water bills can be paid online. Visit our website at http://villageof wonderlake.org to make your water/sewer payment in the form of: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover. You may still choose to pay your bill online, by mail, or by dropping it at the Village Hall. * No parking on the grass or on easements * Limit of two trailers per residence
Also, please note: * • The Ordinances are now codified and on the Village Web page located under the Village Government tab. There will be a Spring Leaf pick up. Please visit the main website for updates! You will also receive a reminder call from MCDES automatic call system.
The Wonder Lake Police Department recently welcomed two new officers to the ranks.
Officer Kurt Griffing has experience as both a police officer and fire fighter / paramedic and Officer Glen Blaylock comes to us from a background in railroad po- licing. Look for them on patrol. With the coming of nice weather also comes the danger of children running around the streets, please keep a watchful eye for our youth. Some of the most common ordinance issues coming up are keeping your trees and bushes from encroaching on the roadway, trimming your tree branches that droop down over the roadway and keeping those yards and lots mowed. We appreciate your efforts in this area. One last reminder is that we are not a golf cart community. Please keep your golf carts, mini bikes and ATV’s off of the roadway and also away from the park and ball- field areas. Have a safe Spring season!
New Public Works Building
The original pole barn was built in 1989 and was located at Jacobson Park, as it is to- day. Before the construction of the building the snow plow was stored outside on a va- cant lot in Sunrise Ridge. The building was 1500 square feet and had space for two trucks. In 1996 we built the salt bin next to the building so we didn't have to store our ice control on the ground. When Chief Losh retired and we had to move the Police Depart- ment from his garage, we built an addition on the exiting Public Works building for this purpose in 1997. In 2008 when the current Municipal Center was completed the Police Department was moved to that location. This move gave us the opportunity to incorpo- rate a Parks storage area, and some additional Public Works storage. After several years of planning we have completely rehabbed the facility to include the following. Raising the concrete floor to match exiting building Moving the bay doors and replacing door openers Changing the Light fixtures out to LED Demoed the PD side and raised the building height to the same as the original space Completely resided and re roofed the structure Added windows to the structure Replaced the heating system Created an office space in a loft area Resided the Salt bin to match building Additional space to house equipment These improvements will make the departments operations safer and more efficient in the years to come while providing for some expansion in the future.
