Details

The Pike River watershed is located in eastern portions of Racine and Kenosha counties and consists of three sub-basins; the North branch, South branch and the Main branch. The North branch originates near county Highway C in the Village of Mount Pleasant. The main tributaries to the North branch include the Barlett branch, Waxdale Creek, Chicory Creek and the Lamparek Ditch. The South branch is a drainage way that originates near Highway 50 in Kenosha County. From there, it flows north along the Union Pacific railroad, picking up contributions from agricultural drainage tiles, Airport branch, Somers branch, School tributary, and other unnamed tributaries. The North branch and South Branch meet at Petrifying Springs Park, forming the Main branch of the Pike River. From Petrifying Springs, the Pike River flows east, then south through the Village of Somers and City of Kenosha before emptying into Lake Michigan a mile north of the Kenosha harbor. The major tributary to the Main branch of the Pike River is Sorenson Creek. The one named lake found in this watershed is Petrified Springs Park Pond, which covers approximately three acres and has recently been restored back to a wetland feature. Another area included in the Pike River watershed is adjacent to the Main branch and drains directly into Lake Michigan. Some of this area has large ravines while a large portion of the urban area has storm sewers that feed directly into Lake Michigan. This area is often referred to as the Direct Drainage area.

Date  2020

Population, Land Use

Nonpoint sources provide a tremendous load of sediment and nutrients. Both urban and rural land uses contribute TSS to the Pike River system but urban originating TSS is often to waters in this area. Forty-five (45%) of the watershed is in agricultural much nastier from a water quality standpoint that land uses. Urban nonpoint pollution is also a concern. Sediment from construction sites and the particles that accumulate on roads and parking lots wash into storm sewers or drainage swales where they contribute toxic materials and wash off phosphorus to local waterways, which cause low oxygen conditions. All of the communities in the watershed with the exception of Elmwood Park, hold WDNR Municipal Stormwater permits designed to reduce the nonpoint pollution that enters local waterways through their storm sewer system. Racine and Kenosha County, and the University of Wiscon­sin Parkside Campus are also covered under permits issued through this program. Waxdale Creek and the North Branch of the Pike River are listed as impaired due to nonpoint source problems.

Date  2010

Ecological Landscapes

The Southern Lake Michigan Coastal Ecological Landscape is located in the southeastern corner of Wisconsin along Lake Michigan. The landforms in this Ecological Landscape are characteristic of glacial lake influence, with ridge and swale topography, clay bluffs, and lake plain along Lake Michigan. Further inland, ground moraine is the dominant landform. Soils typically have a silt-loam surface overlying loamy and clayey tills. The historic vegetation in the northern part of this Ecological Landscape was dominated by sugar maple-basswood-beech forests with some oak while the southern part was dominated by oak forest, oak savanna and prairies. Wet, wet-mesic, and lake plain prairies were common in this area. Black ash and relict cedar and tamarack swamps were found in this Ecological Landscape. Today, most of the area is dominated by dairy and cash grain agriculture and intense urban development. Only about 8% of the Ecological Landscape is forested. Maple-beech forests are about half of the remaining forest types with the remainder split equally between oak-hickory and lowland hardwood forest types. There are some areas of wet-mesic and wet prairie but only small preserves remain since the landscape is heavily disturbed and fragmented. Because of this isolation, fragmentation, and high level of disturbance, non-native plants are abundant.

Date  2010

Hydrologic Features

The river has two main tributaries, the North and South Branches. The North Branch originates in a residential area in the Town of Mt. Pleasant near the junction of County Highway C and 90th Street. From this point, the river flows easterly for about one mile before turning south. Several perennial and intermittent streams, including Waxdale Creek, join this branch before it enters Petrifying Springs Park in the Town of Somers in Kenosha County. In Petrifying Springs Park the river is joined by the South Branch. This watercourse is sometimes called Pike Creek but should not be confused with the Pike Creek that drains a separate watershed just to the south in the City of Kenosha. The South Branch of the Pike River originates as a drainage way near Highway 50 in Kenosha County. From there, it flows north along the Union Pacific Railroad, picking up contributions from agriculture drainage tiles and several tributaries including Airport Branch and Somers Branch. Approximately one-quarter mile downstream from the confluence of the North and South Branches, the Pike River flows into a three-acre impoundment located within Petrifying Springs County Park. The river’s flow may be augmented by groundwater discharged from springs located within the impoundment. From Petrifying Springs County Park, the River flows generally easterly to within approximately one mile of the Lake Michigan shoreline, where it is joined from the north by Sorenson Creek, a major tributary. The river then flows southerly for about four miles until it discharges to Lake Michigan, approximately one mile north of the City of Kenosha Harbor. The Pike River acts as an estuary of Lake Michigan from its mouth to the lagoon located on the Carthage College Campus, a distance of about 1.4 miles.

Date  2010

Fisheries

Fish species found in the Pike River Watershed include yellow perch, southern redbelly dace, blacknose dace, bluegill, and largemouth bass. In addition, steelhead salmon, brown, and brook trout are present due to Lake Michigan stocking efforts. Tolerant fish species found in the watershed include the creek chub, fathead minnow, and green sunfish.

Date  2002

The water quality of the 42 miles of rivers and streams in the Pike River Watershed ranges from severely degraded to good. Twenty-one miles of perennial streams (50%) are currently considered to support a Warm Water Sport Fish community. Eight miles (19%) support a Warm Water Forage Fish community. About eight miles (18%) of streams in the basin support a Limited Forage Fish community. Six miles of streams in the Pike River Watershed are listed on the state’s impaired waters (303(d)) list. These streams are the Upper Pike River and its tributary, Waxdale Creek, in the Town of Sturtevant. Streams and rivers always carry some suspended material, so a certain background level of TSS is ex-Fish species found in the Pike River Watershed include yellow perch, pected. But waterways in the Pike River watershed generally carry too much TSS. In addition, steelhead salmon, brown trout, and brook trout are present rain storms when dirt, bits of metal, and decompos­ing plant and animal material wash off the landscape due to Lake Michigan stocking efforts. Tolerant fish species found in the watershed include the creek chub, fathead minnow, and green sunfish. Because particles sink, streams receiving large amounts of solids from runoff may not seem to have a problem if TSS is measured during dry weather conditions. There are no specific advisories issued for waters in this watershed. Measurement of TSS during wet and dry weather conditions provide a more complete pic­ture of stream conditions.

Date  2010

One major ongoing project that will impact the Pike River Watershed concerns the Mount Pleasant Drainage District #1. The District was recently issued a permit from the WDNR to reconstruct approximately 5.5 miles of the Pike River in the Town of Mount Pleasant, Racine County. The goals of this project are to remove the threat of flooding from several structures and roads in the township, and to improve water quality and fish habitat within the Upper Pike River. Elements of the project include protecting wetlands, installing buffer strips along the river and establishing an environmental corridor. Construction is slated to begin in 2002 and should take a minimum of 10 years to complete at a cost exceeding $17,000,000.

Date  2002

Lakes and Impoundments

The one named lake found in this watershed is Petrified Springs Park Pond, which covers approximately three acres. There are several unnamed ponds and lakes covering 81 acres.

Date  2010

Wetland Health

It is difficult to determine exactly how many acres of wetlands were in the Pike River Basin prior to European settlement. Initial state surveys conducted in the early 1800’s estimated the entire state of Wisconsin contained approximately five million wetland acres. We now know these estimates were low by about 100 percent! There are many reasons for this discrepancy. The original surveyors of the state did not use similar interpretations of what were considered wetlands, nor were the survey methods used very accurate. More recently, soil scientists estimate that Wisconsin once contained 10 million acres of wetlands. Based on evidence left behind in the soil, it’s estimated that the Pike River Watershed once supported over 4,800 wetland acres prior to Euro-American settlement. Today, the watershed contains only 351 acres -- a 93 percent wetland loss! Wetland Status The Pike River Watershed is located in portions of Racine and Kenosha counties, and consists of three sub-basins; the Upper Pike, Pikes Creek, and the Pike River. Wetlands compromise 1% of the current land uses in the watershed. It is estimated that about 7% of the original wetlands in the watershed currently exist. Of these wetlands, forested wetlands (59%) and emergent wetlands (15%), which include marshes and wet meadows, dominate the landscape. Wetland Condition Little is known about the condition of the remaining wetlands but estimates of reed canary grass infestations, an opportunistic aquatic invasive wetland plant, into different wetland types has been estimated based on satellite imagery. This information shows that reed canary grass dominates 70% of the existing emergent wetlands, which includes wet meadows and marshes, and 15% of the remaining forested wetlands. Reed Canary Grass domination inhibits successful establishment of native wetland species. Wetland Restorability Of the 4,493 acres of estimated lost wetlands in the watershed, approximately 34% are considered potentially restorable based on modeled data, including soil types, land use and land cover (Chris Smith, DNR, 2009).

Date  2010

Impaired Waters

Just over eight miles of streams in the Pike River Watershed are considered impaired and not meeting water quality standards. These streams are the North Branch of the Pike River from its junction with the South Branch up river 5.23 miles to State Highway 20, and the entire 2.91 mile length of Waxdale Creek in the Town of Sturtevant. The North Branch of Pike Creek is listed as impaired for Fish and Aquatic Life due to degraded habitat caused by stream channelization, debrushing of streambanks, draining of wetlands, sedimentation from runoff and increased stormwater drainage due to expanding development within the watershed. Fish kills attributed to potential chlorine discharge to Waxdale Creek also affected the North Branch Pike River downstream from confluence with Waxdale Creek; however, no fish kills have been documented on the North Branch Pike River since 1990. Waxdale Creek is listed for Fish and Aquatic Life with sediment as pollutant and degraded habitat as impairment. The stream experienced a one -time fish kill in 1983 where 14,000 fish were documented killed. The kill was attributed to a spill from a point source discharging to the creek. The exact agent causing the kill was not specifically determined, but the toxicity was acute, and not chronic. No other fish kill documents were found. A stream classification survey in 1993 noted chronic water quality problems and habitat problems from nonpoint source runoff. Two additional areas are on the impaired waters list. Pennoyer Park Beach and Alford Park Beach (L.Michigan) are both listed as impaired for Recreational Uses due to elevated e.Coli values.

Date  2010

Groundwater

Groundwater in this area is relatively well-understood. The resource has been analyzed through groundwater flow model­ing by USGS and WGNHS with support from SEWRPC, WDNR, and other partners. This model evaluated groundwater qualityand quantity in both the shallow and deep aquifers in this area. There are deep cones of depression in the deep aquifer both to the north and the south of this area. The cities of Racine and Kenosha obtain drinking water from Lake Michigan.

Date  2010

Projects including grants, restoration work and studies shown below have occurred in this watershed. Click the links below to read through the text. While these are not an exhaustive list of activities, they provide insight into the management activities happening in this watershed.

Monitoring Studies

In addition to various ongoing DNR monitoring efforts, Dr. Tim Ehlinger from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee has conducted biological, water quality and habitat monitoring of the Pike River since 2000 (UWM 2009). His work has focused on the effects of flood control and habitat improvement effort in the North Branch. WDNR Fisheries monitoring includes a variety fieldwork to gain specific knowledge related to Wisconsin’s fish communities. The following waters have been evaluated for fish community: North Branch Pike River, Pike River, South Branch Pike River.

Date  2010

Goals

Priorities

The Pike River Watershed is located in both Kenosha and Racine counties, and within this watershed one can find the Hawthorn Hollow Nature Sanctuary and Arboretum, a 40 acre property which combines nature, history and horticulture. One of the historical buildings located on the property is the original Pike River School, built in 1847. The schoolhouse was made by hand, from oak trees, that grew in the area. The logs were milled at the saw mill, on the river, in what is now known as Petrifying Springs Park. It was there that the trees were cut into boards and used in the construction of the schoolhouse's walls, doors and windows. The total cost of the schoolhouse in 1847 was $200 and that included everything, including the glass for the windows. All the work was done by hand. All 8-grades were taught by one teacher. During this time, the children did not know about football, and baseball had not been invented yet. The teacher was called "Teacher", and not by her name. "Teacher" was a term of liking and respect. The teacher not only had to teach, she also had to be the janitor - sweep the floor and make the fire. In 1850, a teacher's salary was $11.00 a month. During the noon recess children often roamed through the woods. The girls might pick wildflowers. The boys hunted Indian arrowheads or fished in a deep bend of the creek they called The Swimming Hole. By 1905, this one room schoolhouse was too small. The 1847 one room schoolhouse was sold to a farmer who moved it to his nearby farm for storing grain. In 1967 the Hyslop Foundation paid $500.00 for the 1847 Pike River School and moved it to Hawthorn Hollow to be preserved. When Hawthorn Hollow got the school, there were wires stretched under the ceiling with ears of corn drying on them, and the writing was still on the blackboard after sixty years.

Date  2010