Green
No
No
Yes
Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
This small, 3 mile long stream is a tributary to Juda Branch. It has a relatively good gradient, but is flow limited and suffers from habitat degradation due to bank erosion. Almost 90% of the watershed is in agriculture. Buffer width varies throughout stream length. There are many areas where the stream runs through a wooded corridor and is plagued by eroding banks, making this flow limited stream even wider and shallower. Shocking surveys conducted at Giese Road and Bagley Road revealed a depauperate fish population which scored poor for the IBI. Habitat scores were poor or a low fair. One macroinvertebrate sample was poor and the other fair. A combination of these scores reflect the poor condition of this stream and make it a candidate for 303(d) listing using only 1 year of data.
Date 2015
Author James Amrhein
Overview
This warm water forage fishery is similar to other streams in the area. It meanders through cropland and pasture. Habitat is impaired by agricultural nonpoint source pollution. It has not been monitored recently.
Date 2002
Author Aquatic Biologist
Historical Description
Bush, D.M., R. Cornelius, D. Engle, and C.L. Brynildson. 1980. Lake and Stream Classification Project. Surface Water Resources of Green County, 2nd Edition. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison, Wisconsin.
Meandering through cropland and pasture, this small stream joins Juda Branch downstream from the Village of Juda. Bank cover is mostly herbaceous although a narrow band of trees borders the stream for a considerable distance. Erosion is moderate in pastured areas and locally severe at most cattle crossings. The water is generally turbid. In the lower end of the stream, the bottom consists of hardpan and silt. Aquatic vegetation is absent and a short stream portion has been ditched. In the upper end, the bottom is more sandy and gravel and rubble are found in several riffle areas. The fishery consists of forage species dominated by white suckers, and wildlife values are limited to the
lower half mile, where a few muskrats move up from Juda Branch. Access is available from four public road crossings.
Fish Species: Bigmouth shiner, southern redbelly dace, fathead minnow, creek chub, white sucker, brook stickle- back, Johnny darter
Surface Acres = 1.8, Length = 3.0 Miles, Gradient = 24 ft./mi., Base Discharge = 1.1 cu. ft./sec.
Date 1980
Author Surface Water Inventory Of Wisconsin
Impaired Waters
The 2018 assessments of Riley School Branch showed continued impairment by phosphorus; new total phosphorus sample data exceeded the 2018 WisCALM listing criteria for the Fish and Aquatic Life use. However, there was no new available biological data to observe further biological impairment (i.e. this water was listed in previous water evaluation cycles, but no new macroinvertebrate or fish Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) scores were available). Based on the most updated information, no change in the existing impaired waters listing was needed.
Date 2017
Author Ashley Beranek
Impaired Waters
This water was assessed during the 2016 listing cycle; total phosphorus sample data exceed 2016 WisCALM listing criteria for the Fish and Aquatic Life use and biological impairment was observed (i.e. at least one macroinvertebrate or fish Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) scored in the poor condition category). The regional biologist recommends this water for listing for degraded habitat and Sediment/Total Suspended Solids based on poor qualitative habitat scores.
Date 2015
Author Aaron Larson
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 |
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| 877600 | Riley School Br | 10020957 | Riley School Br at Bagley Rd | 8/12/2012 | 10/24/2023 | Map | Data |
| 877600 | Riley School Br | 10040073 | Riley School Br at Giese Rd | 10/8/2013 | 1/1/2015 | Map | Data |
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Watershed Characteristics
Riley School Br is located in the Lower Sugar River watershed which is 217.85 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily agricultural (65.80%), grassland (16.90%) and a mix of forest (7.60%) and other uses (9.70%). This watershed has 467.98 stream miles, 202.10 lake acres and 6,999.03 wetland acres.
Nonpoint Source Characteristics
This watershed is ranked Low 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.