Watershed - Beaver Creek - Juneau (LW28)
Beaver Creek - Juneau Watershed

Details

All streams in the Beaver Creek Watershed, located in Juneau, Monroe, and Jackson Counties, ultimately drain to the Lemonweir River. Numerous impoundments are found throughout the watershed, some of which are used for cranberry production and others are managed for wildlife production or fishing. Land adjacent to many flowages is county, state or federally owned. The Beaver Creek Watershed is located in the driftless region of the state, which was covered at one time by glacial melt water, also known as Glacial Lake Wisconsin. Evidence of the ancient lakebed in this watershed is found in the extensive acreage of wetlands (122 square miles). Forests also account for a large portion of land cover in the watershed. Since over three-fourths of the Beaver Creek Watershed is either forested, wetland, or open water, nonpoint sources of pollution are not as pervasive as in other watersheds where agriculture prevails. The nonpoint source ranking of the watershed for lakes and groundwater is low.

Date  2002

Population, Land Use

Population in the watershed for the year 2000 was estimated at 3,956. Population pressure in the watershed is low and the two incorporated municipalities have seen negative population growth over the last decade. There are also three unincorporated municipalities, Mather, Norway Ridge, and Valley Junction in the Beaver Creek Watershed. County, state or federal agencies manage much of the land in the watershed. More cranberry bogs are found in the Beaver Creek Watershed than throughout the entire Lower Wisconsin River Basin. As a result, the main nonpoint source concern in this watershed is the result of the diversion of water from trout streams and the flooding of high quality wetlands for cranberry production. Poor forest harvesting practices in the watershed also have an impact on surface waters.

Date  2002

Nonpoint and Point Sources

Elevated levels of atrazine, a herbicide used on corn, has been found in some tested private water wells in the town of La Grange along Mill Creek. Soils are permeable, which allows atrazine to reach groundwater in some locations. Warrens is the only permitted municipal wastewater treatment plant in the Beaver Creek Watershed. Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. is the only permitted industrial discharge. Both facilities discharge treated wastewater to groundwater.

Date  2002