131.26 Acres
Reservoir
2015
Unknown
Mercury Contaminated Fish Tissue
Mercury
Jackson
No
No
Yes
Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
Town Line Flowage is a 143 acre impoundment adjacent to HWY 54. The accessibility of this lake to people who fish warrants testing of resident fish populations for contaminants (Amrhein).
Date 1999
Author Aquatic Biologist
Historical Description
This is a very soft water drainage impoundment located on two unnamed streams and Hay Creek within the State Forest. The flowage is managed for waterfowl and there are four pools and five water control structures. Water levels are controlled by stoplogs. The water is alkaline, has a medium brown color, and a low transparency. The basic fishery is bullheads; however, northern pike are frequently creeled and attempts have been made to manage largemouth bass. It has a past history of winterkill conditions. There is public access from S.T.H. 54. Muskrat are significant. Wood duck, mallard and teal nest at the flowage. It is also used by migrating Canada geese and puddle and diving ducks.
Source: 1968, Surface Water Resources of Jackson County Townline Flowage, T21N, R2W, Section 4 Surface Acres = 142.5, S.D.F. = 4.19, Maximum Depth = 6.5 feet.
Date 1968
Author Aquatic Biologist
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
Monitor Fish Tissue
Water Division staff should collect fish representative of the population in Town Line Flowage for contaminant testing. (Type B)
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 |
|---|
| 1717300 | Town Line Flowage | 10002995 | Town Line Flowage | 4/15/1997 | 7/30/2015 | Map | Data |
| 1717300 | Town Line Flowage | 10028760 | Town Line Flowage Deep Hole | 5/21/2008 | 5/21/2008 | Map | Data |
|
Watershed Characteristics
Town Line Flowage is located in the Morrison Creek watershed which is 178.14 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily forest (79%), wetland (15.80%) and a mix of open (2.30%) and other uses (2.90%). This watershed has 236.05 stream miles, 1,525.11 lake acres and 27,521.66 wetland acres.
Nonpoint Source Characteristics
This watershed is ranked Not Ranked for runoff impacts on streams, Not Available for runoff impacts on lakes and Low for runoff impacts on groundwater and therefore has an overall rank of Low. 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.
Town Line Flowage is considered a Reservoir 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.