Buffalo County, Wisconsin
BT06
1811400
0.00 - 7.89
7.89
Water is impaired due to one or more pollutants and associated quality impacts.
Notes
TMDL approved 2005.
Irish Valley Creek is an eight-mile creek that flows west and converges with Waters Valley Creek
before flowing into Waumandee Creek. Irish Valley Creek transports the majority of the sediment in the
subwatershed. The headwaters area of this stream is wooded with protected streambanks. Based on
information from the Waumandee Creek Priority Watershed Project, cattle in the majority of the
downstream area are permitted access to the creek, causing trampled banks, slumping and increased
erosion of the banks. Sedimentation is the reason the creek was placed on the 1998 303(d) list. Irish
Valley Creek currently supports a warm water forage fish community with potential to support a Class
III trout fishery. The stream substrate is primarily silt and sand. Water quality surveys based on
macroinvertebrates were completed in 1999 and 2001. According to the Hilsenhoff Biotic Index (HBI),
the diversity of macroinvertebrates resulted in a score of 2.798 and 3.286, respectively, reflecting
“excellent” water quality. This is a significant improvement from the macroinvertebrate study on Irish
Valley Creek in 1990, which resulted in an 8, which signifies “poor” water quality. A fish survey was
conducted on Irish Valley Creek in 2001.Pollutant
Sediment/Total Suspended Solids
Listed For
Fish and Aquatic Life
Impairments
Degraded Habitat
Current Use
Unsupported Aquatic Life
Listing Status
TMDL Approved
Attainable Use
Salmonid Populations Stocked
Priority
Not Applicable
Designated Use
Salmonid Populations Stocked
303(d) ID
196
Listing Date
4/1/1998
Impaired Water Notes
303(d) Listing Documentation
Waterbody Name: Irish Valley Creek
Waterbody ID Code (WBIC): 1811400
County(ies): Buffalo
Impaired Stream Reach From the mouth at Waumandee Creek, upstream eight miles crossing CTH E and ending northwest of Glencoe Ridge. (8 miles).
The type of impairment: the Existing use is WWFF and codified use is WWSF (default). Potential use is Cold III. The upper one-mile is probably meeting the potential use of Cold III.
Cause of impairment
Habitat, sedimentation
Source of impairment (ex. point source, nonpoint source, internal load, unknown, etc.): Streambank erosion, streambank pasturing
Description of monitoring conducted (including dates, results, quality of dataand reports): Fish and stream surveys were conducted in 1989 and fall 2001. The 2001 surveys found 52 brook trout in the headwater station, but few or no trout at the downstream sites. The coldwater IBI varied from very poor to good, with the poorest conditions occurring in the lower portions near the stream mouth.
A macroinvertebrate sample was collected in fall 2001 and had an HBI of 3.279, which indicates organic loading was very low. The bug IBI score of this sample was 7.8, which indicates a good to excellent insect community. SWIMs ID = 10010322
Fish management completed a survey in 2002 on Irish Valley Creek at the mouth upstream from Waumandee Creek. No trout were found at this location and the fish community consisted of eight warm water forage species. SWIMs ID = 10009533
1996 Buffalo-Trempealeau Basin Report. A TMDL was completed for this stream in 2002.
Location of supporting data (electronic and hard copy files):
WDNR Black River Falls and West Central Region in Eau Claire. Electronic files are available at West Central Regional Headquarters in Eau Claire. Fishery data is located in FH Database and bug data can be found in SWIMs.
Reviewer’s Name: Chris Flicek; revised by Mark Hazuga
Date Reviewed: 3-4-02, revised by Ken Schreiber on 12/16/03; Revised 1/31/2008
Date
11/24/2005
Impaired Water Notes
Only 2 young of year trout were captured in Upper stream reaches in 2011. 52 trout were captured in 2001. Lower trout densities in 2011 can not be explained but the 2011 surveys were completed half a mile downstream 2001 surveys.
Date
12/22/2011
Impaired Water Notes
Irish Valley Creek (1811400, miles 0-7.89) is part of the Waumandee Creek Watershed and sediment TMDLs were approved by the USEPA November 22, 2005.
Date
11/22/2005