4.60 Miles
8.20 - 12.80
Macroinvertebrate, Warm Headwater, COOL-Warm Headwater
2018
Good
Kewaunee
No
No
No
Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
Silver Creek (T25N, R25E, S16) - Silver Creek is the largest tributary to the Ahnapee River. It has two tributaries, Havel and Rio Creeks, and a 5.7-acre impoundment near Algoma. The lower 1.5 miles of Silver Creek support a warmwater fishery
while the remaining fishery supports predominantly forage species.
Silver Creek has fair to poor water quality due to nonpoint source impacts on its mainstem and on its Rio Creek tributary. Rio Creek has very poor water quality. Both Rio and Silver Creeks run through heavily farmed watersheds. Cropland erosion and streambank pasturing have resulted in excessive sediment and nutrient loadings to these streams (WDNR, 1982).
With pollution control in the Rio and Silver Creek watersheds, the fishery of Silver Creek has the potential to improve. A portion of Havel Creek above the confluence with Rio Creek has the potential to become a Class II trout stream for over a mile. Above that area, the potential is limited to a forage fishery due to nonpoint source impacts and flow variability. Low flows and low gradient also limit the Rio Creek fishery.
Algoma Hardwoods discharges non-contact cooling water, boiler blowdown, and water softener backwash to Silver Creek. There appears to be non water quality impacts from this discharge. A 1987 complaince survey revealed no problems.
From: Willman, Guy and Mike Toneys. 2001. The State of the Lakeshore Basin. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison, WI.
Date 2001
Author Michael Toneys
Impaired Waters
Silver Creek (also known as Havel Creek, WBIC 94900) showed impairment by phosphorus in 2018 and 2020. Bug and fish communities were in good health. This water remains on the impaired waters list.
Date 2019
Author Ashley Beranek
Condition
Wisconsin has over 84,000 miles of streams, 15,000 lakes and milllions of acres of wetlands. Assessing the condition of this vast amount of water is challenging. The state's water monitoring program uses a media-based, cross-program approach to analyze water condition. An updated monitoring strategy (2015-2020) is now available. Compliance with Clean Water Act fishable, swimmable standards are located in the Executive Summary of Water Condition in 2018. See also the 'monitoring and projects' tab.
Reports
Management Goals
Wisconsin's Water Quality Standards provide qualitative and quantitative goals for waters that are protective of Fishable, Swimmable conditions [Learn more]. Waters that do not meet water quality standards are considered impaired and restoration actions are planned and carried out until the water is once again fishable and swimmable
Management goals can include creation or implementation of a Total Maximum Daily Load analysis, a Nine Key Element Plan, or other restoration work, education and outreach and more. If specific recommendations exist for this water, they will be displayed below online.
Monitoring
Monitoring the condition of a river, stream, or lake includes gathering physical, chemical, biological, and habitat data. Comprehensive studies often gather all these parameters in great detail, while lighter assessment events will involve sampling physical, chemical and biological data such as macroinvertebrates. Aquatic macroinvertebrates and fish communities integrate watershed or catchment condition, providing great insight into overall ecosystem health. Chemical and habitat parameters tell researchers more about human induced problems including contaminated runoff, point source dischargers, or habitat issues that foster or limit the potential of aquatic communities to thrive in a given area. Wisconsin's Water Monitoring Strategy was recenty updated.
Grants and Management Projects
| Project Name (Click for Details) | Year Started |
|---|
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Monitoring Projects
| WBIC | Official Waterbody Name | Station ID | Station Name | Earliest Fieldwork Date | Latest Fieldwork Date | View Station | View Data |
|---|
| 94900 | Silver Creek | 10011687 | Silver Creek - Silver Cr. at Black Ash Rd. | 10/31/1978 | 1/1/2015 | Map | Data |
| 94900 | Silver Creek | 10051615 | Silver Creek at Partridge Road (west crossing) | 9/26/2018 | 9/26/2018 | Map | Data |
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Watershed Characteristics
Silver Creek is located in the Ahnapee River watershed which is 135.58 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily agricultural (49.80%), wetland (19.80%) and a mix of grassland (19.50%) and other uses (10.80%). This watershed has 189.28 stream miles, 5,768.81 lake acres and 15,037.67 wetland acres.
Nonpoint Source Characteristics
This watershed is ranked High for runoff impacts on streams, Not Ranked for runoff impacts on lakes and High for runoff impacts on groundwater and therefore has an overall rank of High. This value can be used in ranking the watershed or individual waterbodies for grant funding under state and county programs.However, all waters are affected by diffuse pollutant sources regardless of initial water quality. Applications for specific runoff projects under state or county grant programs may be pursued. For more information, go to surface water program grants.
Hydrological
This watershed is 50.00% impervious.
Silver Creek(Havel Creek) is considered a Macroinvertebrate, Warm Headwater, COOL-Warm Headwater under the state's Natural Community Determinations.
Natural communities (stream and lake natural communities) represent model results and DNR staff valiation processes that confirm or update predicted conditions based on flow and temperature modeling from historic and current landscape features and related variables. Predicated flow and temperatures for waters are associated predicated fish assemblages (communities). Biologists evaluate the model results against current survey data to determine if the modeled results are corect and whether biological indicators show water quaity degradation. This analysis is a core component of the state's resource management framework. Wisconsin's Riverine Natural Communities.
Cool (Warm-Transition) Headwaters are small, sometimes intermittent streams with cool to warm summer temperatures. Coldwater fishes are uncommon to absent, transitional fishes are abundant to common, and warm water fishes are common to uncommon. Headwater species are abundant to common, mainstem species are common to absent, and river species are absent.
Warm Headwaters are small, usually intermittent streams with warm summer temperatures. Coldwater fishes are absent, transitional fishes are common to uncommon, and warm water fishes are abundant to common. Headwater species are abundant to common, mainstem species are common to absent, and
river species are absent.