Portage
Yes
No
No
Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
Ten-mile Creek, 23 miles in length, is managed as Class II and III trout water. The upper portion, approximately 11miles, was ditched in the early 1900’s and is referred to as Ditch No. 10. The biological use of Ditch No. 10 was previously identified as a forage fishery; however, surveys completed in 1999 found brook trout in the lower and upper reaches. Young of the year brook trout were found in the upper reaches indicating reproduction is occurring in the ditch. The use classification should be changed to reflect the presence of trout and more detailed surveys should be completed to determine the extent of the classifications. Limiting factors to in-stream fish habitat in Ditch 10 include; over dredging, lack of in-stream cover and sedimentation.
Streambank erosion, pasturing, beaver activity, cranberry marsh discharges, and flashy streamflow limit ten-mile Creek. A shifting sand bottom reduces spawning success. The cranberry marsh discharges are may be increasing stream temperatures and may contain sediment and nutrients that would impact the stream. Stream flow fluctuations are also evident in the stream from the cranberry operations.
Date 2002
Author Aquatic Biologist
General Condition
Tenmile Creek was assessed during the 2018 listing cycle; new total phosphorus, biological (macroinvertebrate Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) scores), and temperature 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
Water Quality Planning
The Sevenmile and Tenmile Creek Watershed is located in the counties of Adams, Portage, Wood and Waushara. This watershed is a maze of ditches and laterals that were created to drain lowland areas for agricultural activities. There are large sections of land that have been purchased by the state that are being maintained for grassland ecosystems. Both grazing and pivot irrigation are two land uses that impact the water quality of Sevenmile and Tenmile Creeks Watershed. This watershed was ranked using the Nonpoint Source Priority Watershed Selection Criteria. Based on surface and ground water data, the overall ranking is high, establishing Sevenmile and Tenmile Creek Watershed as a high priority for future grant eligibility through the Nonpoint Source Pollution Abatement Program. The watershed includes the towns of Pine Grove, Grant, and Almond. The Portage County Soil Erosion Control Plan identifies these towns as having excessive soil loss rates due to wind and water erosion. There are several cranberry farms located in the watershed that utilize water for their operation. Water drawn from ditches reduces stream flow, decreases adult fish cover, reduces spawning areas for trout and likely exposes fish redds, and may result in an increase of water temperatures. Discharges from cranberry marshes can adversely affect water temperatures, deposit sediment, and release nutrients to the ditches. Periodic impounding of the ditches to flood marshes may prevent fish migration, increase water temperatures and de-water downstream reaches.
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 |
|---|
| 1382700 | Tenmile Creek | 10009202 | Ditch 10 Farmers Rd Site 10 | 6/10/2014 | 1/1/2015 | Map | Data |
|
Watershed Characteristics
Tenmile Creek is located in the Sevenmile and Tenmile Creeks watershed which is 112.24 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily forest (44.10%), agricultural (32.40%) and a mix of grassland (17.20%) and other uses (6.30%). This watershed has stream miles, lake acres and 10,480.58 wetland acres.
Nonpoint Source Characteristics
This watershed is ranked High 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.