Lemonweir River, Lower Lemonweir River Watershed (LW27)
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Lemonweir River, Lower Lemonweir River Watershed (LW27)
Lemonweir River (1301700)
20.18 Miles
0 - 20.18
Natural Community
Natural communities (stream and lake natural communities) represent model results that use predicted flow and temperature based on landscape features and related assumptions. Ranges of flow and temperature associated with specific aquatic life communities (fish, macroinvertebrates) help biologists identify appropriate resource management goals. Wisconsin Natural Communities.
Macroinvertebrate, Cool-Cold Headwater, Coldwater, Cool-Warm Headwater, Large River
Year Last Monitored
This is the most recent date of monitoring data stored in SWIMS. Additional surveys for fish and habitat may be available subsequent to this date.
2024
Poor
 
This river is impaired
Impairment Unknown
Total Phosphorus
 
Juneau
Trout Water 
Trout Waters are represented by Class I, Class II or Class III waters. These classes have specific ecological characteristics and management actions associated with them. For more information regarding Trout Classifications, see the Fisheries Trout Class Webpages.
No
Outstanding or Exceptional 
Wisconsin has designated many of the state's highest quality waters as Outstanding Resource Waters (ORWs) or Exceptional Resource Waters (ERWs). Waters designated as ORW or ERW are surface waters which provide outstanding recreational opportunities, support valuable fisheries and wildlife habitat, have good water quality, and are not significantly impacted by human activities. ORW and ERW status identifies waters that the State of Wisconsin has determined warrant additional protection from the effects of pollution. These designations are intended to meet federal Clean Water Act obligations requiring Wisconsin to adopt an 'antidegradation' policy that is designed to prevent any lowering of water quality - especially in those waters having significant ecological or cultural value.
No
Impaired Water 
A water is polluted or 'impaired' if it does not support full use by humans, wildlife, fish and other aquatic life and it is shown that one or more of the pollutant criteria are not met.
Yes

Fish and Aquatic Life

Current Use
The use the water currently supports. This is not a designation or classification; it is based on the current condition of the water. Information in this column is not designed for, and should not be used for, regulatory purposes.
Restricted Aquatic Life
Fish and Aquatic Life communities are not fully supported in this ecosystem.
Attainable Use
The use that the investigator believes the water could achieve through managing "controllable" sources. Beaver dams, hydroelectric dams, low gradient streams, and naturally occurring low flows are generally not considered controllable. The attainable use may be the same as the current use or it may be higher.
WWSF
Streams capable of supporting a warm waterdependent sport fishery. Representative aquatic life communities associated with these waters generally require cool or warm temperatures and concentrations of dissolved oxygen that do not drop below 5 mg/L.
Designated Use
This is the water classification legally recognized by NR102 and NR104, Wis. Adm. Code. The classification determines water quality criteria and effluent limits. Waters obtain designated uses through classification procedures.
Default FAL
Fish and Aquatic Life - Default Waters do not have a specific use designation subcategory but are considered fishable, swimmable waters.

Overview

Lemonweir River - The Lemonweir River in the Lower Lemonweir River Watershed - LW27)
extends from its confluence with the Wisconsin River
upstream to the dam at New Lisbon. The river has a diverse warm water sport fishery. The
dominant gamefish in this reach is the smallmouth bass. Streambank erosion is a problem in
this reach, resulting in sand and sediment accumulating in the deeper holes and backwater
areas, and increased turbidity. It is believed that the proposed removal of the Lemonweir Mill
Dam would eliminate backwater spawning and nursery areas.

Lemonweir River in the Little Lemonweir River Watershed (LW29) - The Lemonweir River flows
through eastern Monroe County and west central Juneau County
in a southeasterly direction for 56 miles before reaching the Wisconsin River between Castle
Rock Lake and the Wisconsin Dells. The Lemonweir River in this watershed extends from the
dam in New Lisbon upstream to where the South and East Forks of the Lemonweir River
converge at Wyeville. These upper 25 miles of the Lemonweir River support a warm water
sport fishery comprised of northern pike, walleye and panfish. The river is bordered by
hundreds of wetland acres and agricultural lands. From Wyeville downstream past the
confluence of Bear Creek, the Lemonweir River has been straightened. However, a low
gradient of only three feet per mile in Juneau County creates a meandering river down to New
Lisbon which can be difficult to navigate. Since the last biological survey was conducted in
1966, a fish and habitat survey should be conducted on the Lemonweir River upstream of
New Lisbon to document existing conditions. Access to the Lemonweir River upstream of
New Lisbon is from seven road crossings. The WDNR has been purchasing easements along
sections of the river to establish riparian buffers to improve stream health.

Ripp, Coreen, Koperski, Cindy and Folstad, Jason. 2002. The State of the Lower Wisconsin River Basin.
PUBL WT-559-2002. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison, WI.

Date  2002

Author  Cynthia Koperski

Historical Description

The Lenaonweir River in this watershed extends from its confluence with the Wisconsin
Rives upstream to dam at New Lisbon. The river has a diverse warm water sport fishery.
The dominant gamefish in this reach is the smallrrlouth bass (WDNR, 1991).
Streambank erosion is a problem in this reach, resulting in sand and sediment
accumulating in the deeper holes and backwater areas, and increased turbidity
(Ironside, 1991). It is believed that the proposed removal of the Lemonweir Mills dam
would eliminate backwater spawning and nursery areas (WDNR, 1991).

Date  1994

Author   Surface Water Inventory Of Wisconsin

Lemonweir River, Lower Lemonweir River Watershed (LW27) Fish and Aquatic LifeLemonweir River, Lower Lemonweir River Watershed (LW27) RecreationLemonweir River, Lower Lemonweir River Watershed (LW27) Fish Consumption

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

2020 Comprehensive WQ Assessments
Final Draft 2018 Impaired Waters List
Comprehensive 2018 River/Stream Water Quality Assessments
Comprehensive 2016 Rivers Stream Assessments
Comprehensive 2014 TP IBI Rivers Assessment
Changes to the Draft 2014 Total Phosphorus/Biology Assessments
Lemonweir River, Juneau County - Aquatic Plant Sampling Map (36 mpts)
Lemonweir River, Juneau County - Garmin Text File
Rivers TP Summary 2012
New Lisbon Lake Bathymetric Map (37 MB)

Recommendations

Shoreland Ordinance
Juneau County proposes to amend or create a shoreland zoning ordinance that complies with the requirements of NR 115, Wisconsin Administrative Code (as revised effective February 1, 2010) and retain existing regulations that exceed the water resource protections of NR 115 or are specific or unique to local needs.
Biomonitoring Toxicity Tests
WRM should conduct monitoring for the presence of toxic substances in fish in New Lisbon Lake (Type B).
Restore Wetlands
Restore Wetlands
Restore Wetlands
Restore Wetlands
Dam Safety or Removal
Examine the impact of removing the Lemonweir Dam to determine if the removal would eliminate necessary spawning and nursery areas.
Monitor Fish Community
The Lemonweir River should be assessed to determine if rare aquatic elements previously found are still present.
Monitor Targeted Area
The populations of leopard frogs in the watershed should be surveyed to determine the health and abundance of the frog. If a decline is indicated, more work should be done to determine the potential causes.

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
CITY OF NEW LISBON: New Lisbon Map 22010
Wetland Restoration Database2016
CITY OF NEW LISBON: New Lisbon Map2007
Monitoring Recommendations Stemming from CWA / IR Listings2000
JUNEAU COUNTY: LCO-Shoreland Ordinance Rev.2010
CITY OF MAUSTON: Lake Decorah Final Report on Phased Planning Project1998
CITY OF MAUSTON: Decorah Map2007
Fish Propagation Actions2001
GOLDEN SANDS RC&D: CBCW Volunteer Supplies2008
CITY OF MAUSTON: City of Mauston2020

Monitoring Projects

WBICOfficial Waterbody NameStation IDStation NameEarliest Fieldwork DateLatest Fieldwork DateView StationView Data
1301700Lemonweir River10035405Lemonweir River - Area of Open WaterMapData
1301700Lemonweir River10036140Lemonweir River - Area of Open WaterMapData
1301700Lemonweir River10036120Lemonweir River - Area of Open WaterMapData
1301700Lemonweir River10035789Lemonweir River - Area of Open WaterMapData
1301700Lemonweir River10014358Lemonweir River Station 16 - Confluence Of Wi River UpstreamMapData
1303300Lemonweir Millpond10003073Lemonweir Millpond7/27/19998/6/2009MapData
1301700Lemonweir River10030932Lemonweir River -- Lemonweir Mills Canoe Launch7/29/20215/6/2024MapData
1301700Lemonweir River10029365Lower Lemonweir River At HWY HH Bridge 10/28/20081/1/2015MapData
1301700Lemonweir River10035087Lemonweir River - Area of Open WaterMapData
1301700Lemonweir River10036732Lemonweir River - Area of Open WaterMapData
1301700Lemonweir River293005Lemonweir River - Mauston Stp4/13/19766/11/1985MapData
1301700Lemonweir River10014352Lemoweir River Station 12 - Decorah Lake Dam UpstreamMapData
1301700Lemonweir River10036799Lemonweir River - Area of Open WaterMapData
1301700Lemonweir River10014354Lemonweir River Station 14 - Lemonweir Mills Dam UpstreamMapData
1301700Lemonweir River10017974Wisconson River -- Access8/4/20135/6/2024MapData
1301700Lemonweir River10036798Lemonweir River - Area of Open WaterMapData
1301700Lemonweir River10035169Lemonweir River - Area of Open WaterMapData
1301700Lemonweir River10036352Lemonweir River - Area of Open WaterMapData
1301700Lemonweir River10014353Lemonweir River Station 13 - Decorah Lake DownstreamMapData
1301700Lemonweir River10036351Lemonweir River - Area of Open WaterMapData
1301700Lemonweir River10052597Lemonweir River, upstream of Townline Road, North of Town of Lemonweir9/23/20199/17/2024MapData
1301700Lemonweir River10036165Lemonweir River - Area of Open WaterMapData
1301700Lemonweir River10036720Lemonweir River - Area of Open WaterMapData
1301700Lemonweir River10035117Lemonweir River - Area of Open WaterMapData
1301700Lemonweir River10035659Lemonweir River - Area of Open WaterMapData
1301700Lemonweir River10014357Lemonweir River Station 15 - Lemonweir Mills Dam Downstream7/23/20247/23/2024MapData
1301700Lemonweir River10035658Lemonweir River - Area of Open WaterMapData

Watershed Characteristics

Lemonweir River is located in the Lower Lemonweir River watershed which is 209.62 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily forest (36.20%), agricultural (31%) and a mix of wetland (22.30%) and other uses (10.60%). This watershed has 384.35 stream miles, 558.61 lake acres and 17,722.41 wetland acres.

Nonpoint Source Characteristics

This watershed is ranked Medium for runoff impacts on streams, Low 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.

Natural Community

Lemonweir River is considered a Macroinvertebrate, Cool-Cold Headwater, Coldwater, Cool-Warm Headwater, Large River 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.

Cool (Cold-Transition) Headwaters are small, usually perennial streams with cold to cool summer temperatures. Coldwater fishes are common to uncommon (<10 per 100 m), transitional fishes are abundant to common, and warm water fishes are uncommon to absent. Headwater species are abundant to common, mainstem species are common to absent, and river species are absent.