NIAGARA RIVER WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PLAN (Phase I) Chapter 2: Watershed Characterization The Niagara River Watershed is located along the western most portion of New York State and drains into the Niagara River, the channel that connects two Great Lakes - Erie and Ontario – and divides the U.S. from Canada. New York State has a total of 17 major drainage basins. The Niagara River Watershed is included within the larger Lake Erie/Niagara River Drainage Basin. Lake Erie and the two principal rivers of the watershed, Buffalo and Niagara, receive waters from over 19 smaller tributaries within the watershed. In total, the watershed encompasses 903,305 Aerial of the Niagara River (NASA) acres of land, 3,193 miles of watercourses, and several small lakes and ponds within the Counties of Erie, Niagara, Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming. Watershed Boundary & Sub-watersheds Within New York State, the Niagara River Watershed is largely made up of eleven smaller sub- watersheds (See Niagara River Watershed Map on following page), each of which has defined boundaries based upon a 10-digit Hydrological Unit Code (HUC). The U.S. Geological Survey established the hydrological unit system as a basis for watershed planning on science-based hydrologic principles, rather than favoring administrative boundaries or a particular agency. The codes are structured in a hierarchy system to identify smaller sub-watersheds nested within larger watersheds. Table 2.1 below lists the eleven sub-watersheds that are part of the Niagara River Watershed, their 10-digit HUC, and total acreage. Page 2 - 1 NIAGARA RIVER WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PLAN (Phase I) Table 2.1 Subwatersheds of the Niagara River Watershed Subwatershed Hydrological Unit Code Acreage Niagara River 0412010406 98,210.90 Lower Tonawanda Creek 0412010405 78,802.20 Middle Tonawanda Creek 0412010403 79,115.90 Upper Tonawanda Creek 0412010401 127,308.10 Ellicott Creek 0412010404 76,843.90 Murder Creek 0412010402 46,685.80 Buffalo River 0412010303 105,391.60 Buffalo Creek 0412010302 93,190.90 Cayuga Creek 0412010301 81,385.30 Smokes Creek 0412010304 39,527.30 Eighteenmile Creek 0412010305 76,843.10 Niagara River Watershed 903,305.00 Source: USGS Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUC) , 2010. USGS’s hydrological units were utilized to characterize the watershed because a watershed’s boundary does not follow municipal boundaries. However there are 48 towns, 16 villages, and 7 cities located completely or partially within the Niagara River Watershed’s Boundary, including the Cities of Niagara Falls and Buffalo. These 71 municipalities include: City of Batavia Town of Bethany Town of Lockport City of Buffalo Town of Boston Town of Marilla City of Lackawanna Town of Cambria Town of Middlebury City of Lockport Town of Cheektowaga Town of Newstead City of Niagara Falls Town of Clarence Town of Niagara City of North Tonawanda Town of Colden Town of North Collins City of Tonawanda Town of Concord Town of Orangeville Town of Darien Town of Orchard Park Town of Alabama Town of Eden Town of Pembroke Town of Alden Town of Elma Town of Pendleton Town of Alexander Town of Evans Town of Porter Town of Amherst Town of Grand Island Town of Royalton Town of Arcade Town of Hamburg Town of Sardinia Town of Attica Town of Holland Town of Shelby Town of Aurora Town of Java Town of Sheldon Town of Batavia Town of Lancaster Town of Stafford Town of Bennington Town of Lewiston Town of Tonawanda Page 2-2 NIAGARA RIVER WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PLAN (Phase I) Town of Wales Village of Alden Village of Lancaster Town of Warsaw Village of Attica Village of Lewiston Town of West Seneca Village of Blasdell Village of Orchard Park Town of Wethersfield Village of Corfu Village of Sloan Town of Wheatfield Village of Depew Village of Williamsville Village of East Aurora Village of Youngstown Village of Akron Village of Hamburg Village of Alexander Village of Kenmore Geology & Topography In describing physical conditions of the Niagara River Watershed it is useful to traverse from the headlands in the southeast in a northwest direction toward the mouth of the Niagara where it meets Lake Ontario. Refer to the Niagara River Watershed and Sub-Watershed Map included on a previous page for orientation with the following geology and topography descriptions of the watershed. Geology In terms of bedrock geology, the Niagara River watershed descends through three levels, or plains, from the Allegheny Plateau at over 2,000 feet above sea level in southwestern New York to the Lake Ontario Plain at 246 feet above sea level in the north (Figure 2.11). An east-west trending escarpment marks each step down. Figure 2.1: Western New York Geography Southernmost and highest is the Portage Escarpment, the dissected northern border of the Allegheny Plateau. The fast flowing headwaters of Niagara’s main tributaries—Tonawanda, Cayuga, Buffalo and Cazenovia Creeks— originate here, flowing north and west across the Lake Erie Plain. Ten to twenty miles north of the Portage Escarpment, the Onondaga Escarpment marks a decrease in elevation across the watershed to the level of the Lake 1 Figure from Marian E. White, Iroquois Culture History in the Niagara Frontier Area of NYS. Page 2 - 3 NIAGARA RIVER WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PLAN (Phase I) Huron Plain. The Onondaga Escarpment creates barriers and waterfalls on several Niagara tributaries including Indian Falls on Tonawanda Creek near Akron, Serenity Falls on Scajaquada Creek in Buffalo, and Glen Falls on Ellicott Creek in the Village of Williamsville. Vernal pools at the base of these escarpments provide critical habitat for amphibians like spotted salamanders (NYS DEC, 2006). The Onondaga Escarpment also marks the rapids between Lake Erie and the upper Niagara River. Northernmost is the Niagara Escarpment - a defining feature of the Great Lakes basin. The escarpment determines the northern boundary of the watershed. It creates Niagara Falls and divides the river into two separate aquatic ecosystems. The three escarpments can be identified in the watershed’s Elevation Map included on the following page. Bedrock throughout the entire watershed is shale with dolomite and limestone intrusions visible at the escarpments. Serenity Falls, Scajaquada Creek (M. Wooster) Landforms The landforms also change across the watershed. The southern portion consists of uplands and dissected plateau with rolling hills and plateau toe slopes consisting of deposited materials at the bottoms of steep slopes. The focus of the watershed, the Niagara River sub-basin to the west, sits on the flat lake plain bounded inland by Pleistocene beach ridges. The north and northeast portion is a lowland area and the home of the Tonawanda Floodplain which spans the Middle and Lower Tonawanda sub-basins. Soils There are three main soil types found in the watershed. Alfisols are very fertile soils that formed underneath old forests. They are moderately well drained, giving the soil a good balance of moisture. Alfisols have a layer of clay underneath the surface of the soil. Many of them are used for growing new forests or for agricultural purposes. Alfisols are primarily found in western and central New York. The northern and western regions of the state are home to histosols. These soils have a very dark layer directly underneath the surface. They have a large amount of organic material. They form in Page 2-4 W I L S O N R I D G E W A Y M U R R A Y O L A K E R ALBION O N T A R I O L R I D G E W A Y H A R T L A N D E YOUNGSTOWN N E W F A N E P O R T E R A W I L S O N N HOLLEY A L B I O N Niagara River Water shed S Niagara River Water shed MEDINA C O Management Plan MIDDLEPORT O N C I L O C K P O R T A E G C L A R E N D O N O A R L E W I S T O N R N A S H E L B Y B A R R E O C A M B R I A R O Y A L T O N C ELEVATION M O LEWISTON TUSCARORA L O C K P O R T INDIAN RESERVATION O R L E A N S C O G E N E S E E C O N I A G A R A P E N D L E T O N E L B A B Y R O N O A K F I E L D N I A G A R A W H E A T F I E L D A L A B A M A Elevation (in Meters) F A L L S ELBA TONAWANDA INDIAN OAKFIELD RESERVATION 5 .7 .3 .2 .6 .4 .4 .5 .5 .3 .2 .8 .8 . 4 2 1 4 9 9 7 2 5 6 5 6 3 6 0 5 9 2 5 8 2 6 0 3 6 9 2 6 3 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 6 N IA G A R A C O 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 4 5 9 6 .8 . .1 .3 .7 . .1 .5 .6 .6 .4 .3 .9 E . 2 9 E R 2 0 4 9 1 4 9 2 7 2 5 6 5 6 3 IE C O 7 1 5 1 2 5 8 3 6 0 3 6 9 2 6 R 1 1 2 2 2 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 I E N O R T H N E W S T E A D C T O N A W A N D A G O E A M H E R S T C L A R E N C E N AKRON E G R A N D S B A T A V I A I S L A N D E B A T A V I A T O N A W A N D A E S T A F F O R D C O P E M B R O K E T O N A W A N D A CORFU KENMORE WILLIAMSVILLE O N T A R I O County C A N A D A Sub-Basin Boundary Municipality A L D E N L A N C A S T E R B E T H A N Y A L E X A N D E R DEPEW D A R I E N P A V I L I O N 5 2.5 0 5 ALEXANDER ALDEN Miles SLOAN LANCASTER 5 2.5 0 5 B U F F A L O C H E E K T O W A G A G E N E S E E C O M IN G C O ATTICA W Y O Kilometers Sub-Basins of the Niagara River Watershed W E S T M I D D L E B U R Y E WYOMING S E N E C A B E N N I N G T O N A T T I C A M A R I L L A R I E L M A E L A C K A W A N N A C LOWER MIDDLE O NIAGARA TONAWANDA TONAWANDA RIVER CREEK CREEK BLASDELL ELLICOTT MURDER CREEK CREEK W ORCHARD EAST Y PARK AURORA O M WARSAW UPPER I N TONAWANDA H A M B U R G O R A N G E V I L L E CAYUGA G CREEK S H E L D O N CREEK A U R O R A W A L E S L A K E E R I E C O SMOKE(S) W A R S A W CREEK O R C H A R D HAMBURG BUFFALO P A R K CREEK EIGHTEENMILE CREEK BUFFALO RIVER G A I N E S V I L L E SILVER SPRINGS J A V A H O L L A N D GAINESVILLE E V A N S E D E N B O S T O N C O L D E N W E T H E R S F I E L D CASTILE National Elevation Data (NED) obtained through USDA ³ ANGOLA NRCS Geospatial Data Gateway, 30m resolution.