Impaired Water - Babb Creek (Babb Creek)
Sauk County, Wisconsin
LW23
1279100
0.00 - 6.42
6.42
Water is impaired due to one or more pollutants and associated quality impacts.
Notes
Babb Creek is listed for high concentrations of total suspended solids and sediment.

Assessments during the 2020 listing cycle show degraded biological community based on poor bug sample data. An additional impairment of 'Degraded Biological Community' was added to the sediment listing.
Listing Details
Pollutant
Sediment/Total Suspended Solids
Listed For
Fish and Aquatic Life
Impairments
Degraded Biological Community, Degraded Habitat
Current Use
Unsupported Aquatic Life
Listing Status
303d Listed
Attainable Use
WWFF - Warmwater Forage Fishery
Priority
Low
Designated Use
WWFF - Warmwater Forage Fishery
303(d) ID
15
Listing Date
4/1/1998
Impaired Water Notes
Fish and habitat assessments collected at three stream sites indicate the stream is in generally fair condition, however three macroinvertebrate assessments indicate the stream is in poor condition. Continuous temperature monitoring indicates the stream is a cool-cold transitional natural community, yet most fish species collected were warm species. Evaluation of stream quantitative habitat showed excessive bank erosion and stream siltation. The stream lacks pools and fish cover. The stream reach at Fish Pond Road was historically ditched and straightened, and there are no bends, yet rocky substrate and riffles are common. There is heavy grazing on the banks, and livestock in the stream. Excessive filamentous algae persists throughout the stream, and wide diurnal swings in temperature and dissolved oxygen occurred at the Fish Pond Road site.
Date
6/30/2011

Impaired Water Notes
This water was assessed during the 2020 listing cycle; according to 2020 WisCALM listing criteria for Aquatic Life use, biological impairment was observed (i.e. at least one macroinvertebrate Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) scored in the poor condition category).
Date
8/26/2019