The Turkey Creek Dam and Dike Conservancy District (TCDDCD) was established to create a reliable and ongoing mechanism for the inspection, maintenance, and improvement of critical infrastructure vital to maintaining the legal lake levels of Lake Wawasee, Syracuse Lake, and Mudd Lake in Kosciusko County, Indiana.

Formation and Purpose

The Conservancy District was officially established by order of the Kosciusko Circuit Court on December 15, 2020, following the guidelines of the Indiana Conservancy Act (IC 14-33-1-1). This establishment was the culmination of a petition process, which the court found to be “necessary,” “promis[ing] of economic and engineering feasibility,” and offering “benefits in excess of costs.”

The primary problem necessitating the District’s formation was the lack of a consistent and reliable funding mechanism to address the ongoing needs of the existing structures. The two key pieces of infrastructure requiring this dedicated oversight were:

• The Lake Level Control Structure: Located on the west end of Syracuse Lake, this structure (originally built in the 1880s and rebuilt in 1964) regulates the water surface elevation for both Syracuse Lake and Lake Wawasee.
• The Dike: Located on the western edge of Lake Wawasee, this structure was known to be in need of repair, having experienced a partial failure in January 2008.

The District’s formation was a proactive measure to secure these structures’ long-term integrity, thereby protecting area property values, increasing the quality of life for residents, and sustaining environmental areas and recreational opportunities across the more than 3,500 acres of water.

The Five Directorship Districts

A central element of the Conservancy District’s structure is its five directorship areas. The Court Order Establishing Turkey Creek Dam and Dike Conservancy District explicitly addressed the governance, finding that a Board of Directors consisting of five directors will best serve as a Governing Body for the new district.

The division of the territory into five distinct districts was established to ensure equitable representation on the Board from across the conservancy area. This area is defined by all parcels of land within Turkey Creek Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana, that have at least one boundary abutting the waters of Lake Wawasee, Syracuse Lake, or Mudd Lake at the legally established lake levels. The five districts were split to include exactly 721 homes within each boundary.

The boundaries of the five districts were carefully delineated and attached to the Court Order to reflect specific geographical segments of the lakefront parcels. While the order itself states that five directors will “best serve” the Governing Body, the subsequent division of the conservancy territory into five corresponding districts is the mechanism to allow for this representative governance structure. The districts ensure that a board member is elected from and represents a distinct part of the lakefront community, allowing a broader range of stakeholder interests and local issues to be brought to the board’s attention.

Upon establishment, the Kosciusko County Board of Commissioners were tasked with appointing the initial members of the Board of Directors, with their terms staggered to ensure continuity. As each initial term expired, the directorship transitioned to a four-year term filled by election, reinforcing the representative nature of the five districts. The Board is responsible for implementing the District Plan, which outlines the comprehensive strategy for maintenance and improvements. The structure of the five districts is therefore fundamental to the District’s ongoing governance, operation, and successful execution of its mission to secure the water resources of the community.