Walworth County, Wisconsin
FX05
752500
0.00 - 2.10
2.10
Water is impaired due to one or more pollutants and associated quality impacts.
Notes
TMDL has been approved 2003.
Spring Brook, North Branch (SB1) is located in the Spring Brook subwatershed. It originates from a pond and flows 2.6 miles to the confluence with Spring Brook. SB1 has a contributing drainage area 1.3 square miles. The entire reach is listed as impaired for habitat degradation, turbidity, and sedimentation. The lower reaches of this branch have been channelized and flow through agricultural fields. Its current
classified existing use is as a Limited Forage Fishery.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
WWFF - Warmwater Forage Fishery
Priority
Not Applicable
Designated Use
WWFF - Warmwater Forage Fishery
303(d) ID
453
Listing Date
4/1/1998
Impaired Water Notes
Approved March 13, 2003. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) developed six sediment TMDLs for six segments in the Sugar/Honey Creek watershed (Table 1). The TMDLs address the sediment impacts and impairments which were identified on the Wisconsin 1998 303(d) list. The segments were ranked as medium priority on the Wisconsin 1998 303(d) list. The waterbody segments are located in Walworth and Racine Counties, Wisconsin. The segments are 2 to 6 miles long and the Sugar/Honey Creek watershed drains an area of 170 square miles. The land use in 1990 of the various subwatersheds is in Table 1 of the TMDL. In general, the major land use is cropland (68%-80%), with woodlands and wetlands ranging from 12%-28%. There are no point sources on the impaired waters that discharge sediments. Non-point sources are identified in the “Non-point Source Control Plan for the Sugar/Honey Creek Priority Watershed Project (“Watershed Plan”), Chapter 3. The Watershed Plan is an attachment to the TMDL. Nonpoint sources identified in the Watershed Plan as contributing to the impairments include agricultural field run-off and streambank erosion. Table 2 identifies the existing annual sediment load (in tons/year) for the impaired segments from various sources/land uses. EPA finds that the TMDL document submitted by WDNR satisfies all requirements of this first element.
Date
3/20/2011
Impaired Water Notes
The state established a water quality target for the segments as meeting a potential use of
Warmwater Sport Fishery or Coldwater Community, as described in NR 1.02(7)(b) of the WAC.
Although sediment has been determined to be the pollutant of concern, WDNR will be
monitoring the fish community to determine the effectiveness of TMDL implementation, as the
fish community is the designated use being impaired.
These segments were listed for habitat, flow, turbidity, fish community imbalance, nutrients,
dissolved oxygen (DO), and bacteria (Table 1). The TMDLs address the habitat, flow, turbidity
and fish community imbalance impairments, by reducing sediment, and thereby eliminating
these impairments. During the development of the TMDLs, WDNR determined that there was
no impairment for nutrients, DO, and bacteria. Therefore, no TMDLs were developed for these
pollutants.
Date
3/21/2011
Impaired Water Notes
Spring Brook, North Branch (SB1) is located in the Spring Brook subwatershed. It originates from a pond and flows 2.6 miles to the confluence with Spring Brook. SB1 has a contributing drainage area 1.3 square miles. The entire reach is listed as impaired for habitat degradation, turbidity, and sedimentation. The lower reaches of this branch have been channelized and flow through agricultural fields. Its current classified existing use is as a Limited Forage Fishery
The impairments in the lower reaches include lack of adequate substrate and habitat to support a healthy fishery. Cobble, gravel, and woody debris are 75 to 100 percent embedded in fine sediments. Undercut banks are inundated with fines and the sides of the channel and pools have soft sediment from 0.5 to 1.0 foot deep.
The cause of the problems is agricultural use, including cropland erosion and drain tiles, and channelization of the stream. Recommendations in the watershed plan are to reduce sedimentation and nutrient inputs to the stream through the use of buffers, provide shading to the streams to improve habitat, and discourage future channelization of the streams. Its potential use is a Warm Water Forage Fishery. It is unlikely to meet the codified classification as a Warm Water Sport Fishery due to the limitations listed above.
Date
12/30/2002