Waushara
Yes
Yes
No
Fish and Aquatic Life
Historical Description
Mecan River, T15N, RIlE, Section 4, Surface Acres = 145.6, Miles = 30.8, Gradient = 1.7 feet per mile.
A long, fairly large stream meandering generally southeasterly across the county. The river above State Highway 22 is managed for trout and has a moderate gradient and good water quality. Below the highway, northern pike, largemouth bass and panfish are common. On occasion, northern pike penetrate the entire river system and threaten the trout fishery with predation. A barrier was recently installed at the highway bridge to prevent the movement of rough fish and large predator fish upstream. Electrofishing gear has also been employed to remove predators from the trout water. Electric weirs will be installed by spring of 1964. About 4.7 miles of stream are in public ownership as part of 3,081 acres of public hunting and fishing grounds. Most of the stream in Marquette County was traversed by canoe during the course of field investigations.
From: Poff, Ronald J. and Threinen, C.W., 1963. Lake and Stream Classification Project. Surface Water Resources of Marquette County, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison, WI.
Date 1963
Author Surface Water Inventory Of Wisconsin
General Condition
Mecan River was assessed during the 2018 listing cycle; new total phosphorus sample data were clearly below the 2018 WisCALM listing thresholds for the Fish and Aquatic Life use. This water was meeting this designated use and was not considered impaired.
Date 2017
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
Recommendations
Citizen-Based Stream Monitoring
Collect chemical, physical, and/or biological water quality data to assess the current overall stream health. The data can inform management decisions and may be used to identify impaired waters for biennial lists.
Monitor Targeted Watershed Area (TWA)
Mecan TWA Protection
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
Monitoring Projects
WBIC | Official Waterbody Name | Station ID | Station Name | Earliest Fieldwork Date | Latest Fieldwork Date | View Station | View Data |
---|
155000 | Mecan River | 10054651 | Mecan River Spring 2 | 10/21/2020 | 10/21/2020 | Map | Data |
155000 | Mecan River | 10054650 | Mecan River Spring 2 | 10/21/2020 | 10/21/2020 | Map | Data |
155000 | Mecan River | 10047370 | Wetland [ID 70423693330] | 9/8/2016 | 9/8/2016 | Map | Data |
155000 | Mecan River | 10029370 | MECAN RIVER DS of CUMBERLAND RD | | | Map | Data |
155000 | Mecan River | 10047382 | Wetland [ID 70423693653] | 9/28/2016 | 9/28/2016 | Map | Data |
155000 | Mecan River | 10039319 | Mecan River at Cumberland Rd | 4/24/2017 | 9/18/2024 | Map | Data |
155000 | Mecan River | 10029345 | MECAN RIVER at CTH B | 10/17/2017 | 6/16/2020 | Map | Data |
155000 | Mecan River | 10054694 | Mecan River | 10/21/2020 | 10/21/2020 | Map | Data |
155000 | Mecan River | 10010707 | Mecan River - 11th Rd Ibi Station 2 | 10/2/2003 | 9/9/2021 | Map | Data |
155000 | Mecan River | 10055439 | Mecan River - County Road B Bridge | 7/21/2020 | 10/28/2020 | Map | Data |
155000 | Mecan River | 10034799 | Mecan River - Cty Rd GG (~600ft S) | 7/5/2005 | 9/18/2024 | Map | Data |
155000 | Mecan River | 10038885 | Mecan River HWY 21 Upstream | 5/13/1998 | 9/9/2021 | Map | Data |
155000 | Mecan River | 10022003 | Mecan River at STH 21 | 6/18/2005 | 9/29/2014 | Map | Data |
155000 | Mecan River | 10043114 | Mecan River 9th Ave Habitat Work | | | Map | Data |
155000 | Mecan River | 10010706 | Mecan River - 9th Avenue Ibi Station 3 | 10/2/2003 | 1/1/2015 | Map | Data |
155000 | Mecan River | 10033877 | Mecan River - 9th Ave (downstream) | 7/5/2005 | 9/9/2021 | Map | Data |
|
Watershed Characteristics
Mecan River is located in the Mecan River watershed which is 148.31 miĀ². Land use in the watershed is primarily forest (48.40%), agricultural (21.30%) and a mix of wetland (20.30%) and other uses (10.00%). This watershed has 166.56 stream miles, 1,837.44 lake acres and 18,622.87 wetland acres.
Nonpoint Source Characteristics
This watershed is ranked Not Ranked 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.