Watershed - Knapp Creek (LW08)
Knapp Creek Watershed

Details

The Knapp Creek watershed covers approximately 154 square miles and is located in the driftless area of western Richland and eastern Crawford counties. There are no major municipalities in the watershed and overall population in 2000 was estimated to be fewer than 2,000. Most of the streams in the watershed drain to Knapp Creek. Knapp Creek empties into the Wisconsin River above Boscobel. Land cover in the watershed is mostly broad leaf deciduous forest, although a large portion of the watershed is used for agricultural production. The primary land use is forest (broadleaf deciduous), agriculture, grassland and wetlands. There are no point source discharges to streams in the watershed. The primary surface water quality problems are the result of nonpoint source pollution. In addition, a portion of the watershed on the Lower Wisconsin River Valley is in an atrazine prohibition area, which indicates that elevated levels of atrazine, an herbicide used on corn, has been found in some tested private water wells. Permeable soils have allowed atrazine to reach groundwater in some locations. Another concern in the watershed is the impoundment of natural springs throughout the watershed. Springs are critical to the success of trout streams since they introduce water with minimal temperature fluctuations throughout both summer and winter (approximately 52 degrees Fahrenheit). This has caused stream temperatures that are warmer in the summer and colder in the winter, which stresses coldwater fish species in the summer and reduces spawning success through the winter The Knapp Creek Watershed has a variety of good quality habitats and rare plant communities that are listed on the state’s Natural Heritage Inventory, (NHI), which is kept by the Bureau of Endangered Resources. The watershed is also home for a variety of rare plant and animal species including; 13 species of fish, 5 species of birds, 12 mussel species, 2 species of snakes, 1 species of beetle, 7 different species of dragonflies, 5 species of mayflies, 20 types of plants and 1 mammal species. These species are also listed on the NHI survey. The Knapp Creek, and Marietta Units of the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway (LWSR) are in this watershed. The Knapp Creek Unit is 5,001 acres, of which 2,998 are DNR owned and 2,003 contain DNR easements. The Marietta Unit is 1,956 acres of publicly owned land. Both areas offer a variety of recreational opportunities.

Date  2001

Details

The Knapp Creek watershed covers approximately 154 square miles and is located in the driftless area of western Richland and eastern Crawford counties. There are no major municipalities in the watershed and overall population in 2000 was estimated to be fewer than 2,000. Most of the streams in the watershed drain to Knapp Creek. Knapp Creek empties into the Wisconsin River above Boscobel. Land cover in the watershed is mostly broad leaf deciduous forest, although a large portion of the watershed is used for agricultural production. In the watershed, there are no point source discharges to streams. The primary surface water quality problem is the result of nonpoint source pollution and the watershed has been ranked as a medium priority for nonpoint source pollution. In addition, a portion of the watershed on the Lower Wisconsin River Valley is in an atrazine prohibition area, which indicates that elevated levels of atrazine, an herbicide used on corn, has been found in some tested private water wells. Permeable soils have allowed atrazine to reach groundwater in some locations. Another concern in the watershed is the impoundment of natural springs throughout the watershed. Springs are critical to the success of trout streams since they introduce water with minimal temperature fluctuations throughout both summer and winter (approximately 52 degrees Fahrenheit). This has caused stream temperatures that are warmer in the summer and colder in the winter, which stresses coldwater fish species in the summer and reduces spawning success through the winter.

Date  2001

Nonpoint and Point Sources

The Knapp Creek Watershed drains to the Wisconsin River in Richland and Crawford Counties. No municipal wastewater facilities discharge in the watershed, The only industrial dischargers, two dairies, discharge lo groundwater. According to the draft Richland County Soil Erosion Control Plan, the Knapp Creek watershed has the second highest average erosion rate in the county, 5.2 tons per acre per year, The Crawford County Erosion Control Plan indicates the Crawford County portion of the watershed has an average soil erosion rate of 7.4. tons per acre per year. There is limited information available evaluating the ability of the streams to improve if nonpoint source pollution is controlled. Portions of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway are in this watershed.

Date  1994