INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Department of Transportation has agreed to pay a northeast side Indianapolis neighborhood $253,000 to cover damage to a nearby lake.

The settlement involves Indian Lake, which is surrounded by about 110 homes near 79th Street and Sunnyside Road, 6News' Rafael Sanchez reported.

Homeowners contacted Call 6 For Help in 2005 when INDOT was expanding Pendleton Pike in the area, claiming that tons of silt and dirt was washing downstream, threatening the lake.

The state's settlement -- agreed on last year, but not announced until this month -- is an estimate of what it will cost to remove the debris the state project presumably added to the lake. As part of the deal, no one admitted to any wrongdoing.

"Your story really helped energize us to do something about this, and we did," said homeowner Mark Rumreich, who had been very vocal from the very beginning about the erosion issues.

The homeowners group is giving away the dirt dredged from the lake for free.