Lower St. Joseph – Bear Creek Watershed Management Plan Prepared by: The St. Joseph River Watershed Initiative 3718 New Vision Drive Fort Wayne, Indiana 46845 September 30, 2007 Supported by funding from the City of Fort Wayne, Water Utilities Department And the Indiana Department of Environmental Management Funded by a Section 205(j) Grant, ARN A305 5-73 For copies of this document, please contact: The St. Joseph River Watershed Initiative, 3718 New Vision Drive Fort Wayne, Indiana 46845 See Also the Following Documents: The St. Joseph River Watershed Management Plan (2006) 2004 St. Joseph River Watershed Initiative Water Quality Report 2005 St. Joseph River Watershed Initiative Water Quality Report Report on the Bacteria Source Tracking (BST) Project, October 30, 2004 These documents are available in PDF format on the St. Joseph River Watershed Initiative website, www.sjrwi.org All programs offered prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs or family status. This project has been funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under assistance agreement no. C6975750-04 to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. The contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Environmental Protection Agency, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. Cover photo of the St. Joseph River Dam by J. Loomis 2005. September 30, 2007 Lower St. Joseph –Bear Creek Indiana Watershed Management Plan ii Bear Creek 4100003070 Lower St. Joseph – Allen Co 4100003100 Figure 1 The Lower St. Joseph and Bear Creek sub-watersheds located in the HUC-8 St. Joseph River Watershed September 30, 2007 Lower St. Joseph –Bear Creek Indiana Watershed Management Plan iii Table of Contents Commonly Used Acronyms ........................................................................................................................... ix Vision of the Watershed ................................................................................................................................. xi Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................................... xiii Part 1: Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Partnerships and Organizations involved in this project ................................................................... 2 1.1.1 The St. Joseph River Watershed Initiative Partnership ............................................................ 2 1.1.2 Soil and Water Conservation Districts of Allen and DeKalb Counties .................................... 3 1.1.3 Local Governments of Fort Wayne and Allen County ............................................................. 3 1.1.4 Other city and county offices ................................................................................................... 3 1.2 Public Participation ........................................................................................................................... 3 1.2.1 Stakeholder-Perceived Problems .............................................................................................. 4 1.2.2 Stakeholders’ Visions for the Watershed ................................................................................. 6 Part 2: The Watershed .................................................................................................................................... 8 2.1 Watershed Location and Hydrology ............................................................................................. 8 2.1.1 Water supply ........................................................................................................................... 12 2.1.2 Wetlands ................................................................................................................................ 13 2.2 Description and History ................................................................................................................... 13 2.2.1 Natural History ....................................................................................................................... 13 2.2.2 Topography ............................................................................................................................ 15 2.2.3 Land Use and Population ........................................................................................................ 15 2.2.4 Soils ........................................................................................................................................ 20 2.2.5 Climate ................................................................................................................................... 20 2.2.6 Cultural and Recreational Resources ...................................................................................... 20 Part 3: Benchmarks and Current Status of the Watershed ............................................................................ 24 3.1 Water Quality .............................................................................................................................. 25 3.1.1 303(d) Impaired Waterways ................................................................................................... 25 3.1.2 The SJRWI Water Quality Sampling Program ....................................................................... 25 3.1.3 Data Results: Contaminants of Concern ................................................................................. 26 3.1.3.1 Bacteria .............................................................................................................................. 26 3.1.3.2 Sediment ............................................................................................................................ 30 3.1.3.3 Nutrients............................................................................................................................. 34 3.1.3.4 Pesticides ........................................................................................................................... 35 3.2 Fish Consumption Advisories ......................................................................................................... 37 3.3 Exotic and Invasive Species ............................................................................................................ 38 3.4 Endangered Species ......................................................................................................................... 39 3.5 Wetlands .......................................................................................................................................... 40 3.6 Natural Communities and Conservation Practices .......................................................................... 43 Part 4: Known water quality problems and their sources .............................................................................. 47 4.1 Water Quality Issues ........................................................................................................................ 48 4.1.1 Bacteria ................................................................................................................................... 48 4.1.2 Sediment. ................................................................................................................................ 49 4.1.3 Pesticide Spikes ...................................................................................................................... 50 4.1.4 Nutrients ...................................................................................................................................... 50 4.2 Recreation and access to the River .................................................................................................. 51 4.3 Natural areas and River Corridor Preservation ................................................................................ 52 4.4 Watershed Education ....................................................................................................................... 55 Part 5: Critical Areas in the Watershed ........................................................................................................ 57 5.1 Main stem of the St. Joseph River and the river corridor ................................................................ 58 5.2 Transportation corridor: I-69, I-469, State Road 1 .......................................................................... 60 5.3 Non-sewered areas of Fort Wayne and Allen County ..................................................................... 62 5.4 Cedarville Reservoir area, Leo-Cedarville ...................................................................................... 64 September 30, 2007 Lower St. Joseph –Bear Creek Indiana Watershed Management Plan iv 5.5 Swartz-Carnahan Ditch and watershed ............................................................................................ 66 5.6 Witmer Ditch - Grabill Area ........................................................................................................... 68 5.7 Upper Tributaries in the Bear Creek sub-watershed ........................................................................ 70 5.8 Central (urban)