| Lake Papakeechie | |
|---|---|
| Diagram of Lake Papakeechie | |
| Location | Kosciusko County, Indiana |
| Lake type | reservoir |
| Catchment area | 5.36 sq mi (13.9 km2) |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Surface area | 179 acres (0.72 km²) |
Lake Papakeechie is a small man-made lake of 179 acres (0.72 km²) located in Kosciusko County, Indiana, United States. The lake is situated south of and drains into Lake Wawasee. The lake is owned by the Papakeechie Protective Association.
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Lake Papakeechie is named after Miami chief Papakeecha or Pa-hed-ke-teh-a, the most influential chief in the region around Lake Wawasee.
Papakeechie was created just before 1910 in the same location and in a basin where 6 small lakes once occupied this area. The small lakes were named Jarret's, Gan's, Hooper's and 3 named Hartzell's. Early in the 19th century a fish trap or fish weir was constructed at the outlet where water flowed to Lake Wawasee where settlers would easily catch fish. The lake (with dam) was deemed completed in 1913.
When an 8 foot (2 m) earthen dam was constructed by Charles A. Sudlow of Indianapolis on that north side, the water level rose elevating large masses of vegetation. These were loaded with rocks and filled with holes and sunk to the bottom.
From the 1950s through late 1960s an aluminum airplane wheel with tire measuring some 7 to 8 feet (2 m) across lay on the shore of Papakeechie just to the east of the dam. It was never known how the piece of landing gear got there as it would have had to have been rolled up hill and over the earthen part of the dam. Some said it was dropped from an airplane but that theory was never confirmed.
Papakeechie has a drainage area of 5.36 sq mi (13.9 km2). The dam length is 2460.00 feet (749 m). It has a maximum discharge of 291 ft³/s (8.2 m³/s). Normal storage is 890 acre feet (1,100,000 m3). The Indiana Department of Natural Resources is the state regulating agency.
The Papakeechie Protective Association is currently embroiled in controversy with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, which is asserting that the Association's dam and levees are badly outdated, unsafe, and not in conformity with Federal and State law. The Indiana DNR has threatened to breach the dam if the Association fails to fix and enhance its dam and levees, as required. It has been estimated by engineering experts that the price tag for this project could exceed as much as $800,000.