Project Detail

South Fish Creek TWA, Bayfield County

Purpose

South Fish Creek is located in Bayfield County. Northland College in Ashland has been conducting monitoring in the watershed and researchers intend to continue this work. Flow monitoring is conducted at one site and will be started at a second site. The monitoring was not CAFO oriented, but was a more general water quality assessment. Bacterial contamination of the beach in Ashland was a partial focus of the monitoring. Additional data gathering is proposed to dovetail with current monitoring, to provide a baseline for the subwatershed where a CAFO is planned, and to assess South Fish Creek for bacterial impairment. A separate, complementary local needs project is also proposed to obtain adequate funding for the water quality monitoring planned.

Objective

This monitoring work is published in the DNR document, South Fish Creek Targeted Watershed Assessment: A Water Quality Plan to Protect Wisconsin Watersheds, 2020.

Outcome

No. of sample sites - 6 for fish, bugs, and one time basic water chemistry; 3 for intensive E. coli monitoring (these 3 sites will also be monitored for a broad range of parameters through the complementary special project) No. of sampling events - 10 in FY16; 25 in FY17 Date when sample collection complete - November 2015; samples collected May-October Dates for for all data to be in data base - September 2016, when bug samples are complete Final report by January 2017. FH data base for fish and habitat data; SWIMS for bacteria and bug data LTE will enter FH data; Labs will enter bacteria and bug data into SWIMS