Lafayette
No
No
Yes
Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
Diggings (New Diggings) Creek is a tributary to the Galena River. Water quality, instream habitat, and the stream’s fishery have been impaired due to mine waste (roaster piles) adjacent to the stream. In the late 1990’s, the DNR undertook a remediation project to remove mine waste material from the stream site. The most recent macroinvertebrate survey showed the insect community to be good, although lacking in diversity and dominated by crane flies. A fisheries survey should be conducted to determine the contemporary status of the stream.
Date 2010
Author James Amrhein
Overview
Diggings (New Diggings) Creek is a tributary to the Galena River in extreme southwestern Lafayette County. Water quality, instream habitat and fisheries of the stream have been impaired due to a mine waste (roaster) pile adjacent to the stream. The pile contained about 15,000 cubic yards of mine wastes and covered approximately 1.5 acres in a wetland adjacent the stream (WDNR, 1998). In 1995, the DNR undertook a project to remediate this pile which was completed in 1997. The project removed the mine waste material from the streamside site and the site was restored.
DNR staff conducted macroinvertebrate and fish monitoring on the stream above and below the site during the period from 1993 to 1995 (Marshall, 1998). A fairly diverse forage fishery was found. The HBI gave a varied picture of the stream and results ranged from good to poor water quality. Levels of zinc in the water column were elevated but not to the level that affects fish reproduction or diversity. However, the stream failed an acute and chronic toxicity tests for one parameter in April, 2000. It is likely that the presence of other mining waste piles upstream of the site partially mask water quality improvements realized from the remediation project. Additional monitoring of water chemistry, fish and macroinvertebrates, and of the wetlands effort, is needed. Based on the monitoring data, this stream can be classified as being warm water forage fishery (Marshall, 1998).
The community of New Diggings is adjacent the stream. The residents of New Diggings use on-site waste disposal systems for domestic wastewater. Diggings Creek is on the state’s impaired waters list as a result of water quality and habitat problems due to mining waste drainage and non-point sources of pollution
Date 2001
Author Aquatic Biologist
Historical Description
Being of high gradient, Diggings Creek is a swift stream that flows westerly into the Fever River (Galena) about 2.5 miles above the Wisconsin-Illinois state line. Results of chemical analyses indicate that an abnormal amount of dissolved solids occur here. The conductivity units are normally about two times that of alkalinity units, but in this case the ratio is 5:1. This is most probably due to the leaching of various electrolytes from several mine dumps located immediately adjacent to the stream above the sampling sites. The absence of aquatic flora and fauna was noted at the sample sites alongwith the presence of a mineral precipitate deposited on the gravel and debris. The fishery of this stream is limited to the more hardy forage fishes whichare able to exist in such an environment. The small village of New Diggingsis located on the stream. Most of the stream bottom is made up of small gravel with silt being found near the mouth. About three-fourths of the watershed
is used for agricultural purposes with the remainder in upland hardwoods. Waterfowl and furbearer habitat is very limited. Upland game species consist of some deer, pheasants, rabbits and squirrels. There is no public land in the watershed but access is possible from several road bridges.
Diggings Creek, T1N, RlE, Sections 22-15, Surface acres = 2.2, Miles = 4.0, Gradient = 62.5 feet per mile, Total alkalinity = 254 mg/l, Volume of flow = 1.1 cfs.
From: Piening, Ronald; Poff, Ronald; Threinen, C.W., 1967. Lake and Stream Classification Project. Surface Water Resources of Lafayette County, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison, WI.
Date 1967
Author Aquatic Biologist
Impaired Waters
Diggings Creek (936800) was assessed during the 2016 listing cycle; total phosphorus sample data clearly met 2016 WisCALM listing criteria for the Fish and Aquatic Life use, however, biological impairment was observed (i.e. at least one macroinvertebrate or fish Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) scored in the poor condition category).
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
Recommendations
Monitor Targeted Area
DNR should monitor Diggings Creek and Louisburg Creek to determine their contemporary status and determine if they should remain on the states list of impaired waters. The DNR should monitor Diggings Creek to determine if elevated levels of heavy metals are still present in the water column. Sediment sampling and fish toxicity sampling should also be done.
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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| 936800 | Diggings Creek | 10016532 | New Diggings Br - Upstream Of Roaster Pile 25 Mbelow Bridge | 5/18/1995 | 5/18/1995 | Map | Data |
| 936800 | Diggings Creek | 333226 | New Diggings Trib - Chw W | 5/4/1994 | 5/4/1994 | Map | Data |
| 936800 | Diggings Creek | 333228 | N Diggings Br - Abv Roaster Pile | 5/4/1994 | 2/15/1996 | Map | Data |
| 936800 | Diggings Creek | 333227 | N Diggings Br - Bel Roaster Pile | 5/4/1994 | 1/1/2015 | Map | Data |
| 936800 | Diggings Creek | 10016518 | New Diggins Br - Upstream Of Roaster Pile New Dig-Gins Branch | 4/15/1994 | 5/18/1995 | Map | Data |
| 936800 | Diggings Creek | 10016444 | Trib To New Diggins Br - Cth W | 4/15/1994 | 4/15/1994 | Map | Data |
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Watershed Characteristics
Diggings Creek is located in the Galena River watershed which is 241.84 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily agricultural (63.10%), grassland (26.40%) and a mix of forest (5.70%) and other uses (4.60%). This watershed has 572.33 stream miles, 65.18 lake acres and 681.01 wetland acres.
Nonpoint Source Characteristics
This watershed is ranked Not Ranked for runoff impacts on streams, Not Available 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.