Wisconsin's USEPA Approved TMDLs

These Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) strategies have been reviewed and approved by the USEPA and are formal amendments to the state's Water Quality Management Plan.

Name (Approved TMDL)	County (Map)	Pollutant [Approval Date ]	Status Update
Dougherty Creek [PDF 313KMB]	Green	Phosphorus, BOD 08/22/08	The 16-mile Dougherty Creek originates from springs north of Postville, Wisconsin, flowing southwest from Green County into Lafayette County where it joins the East Branch Pecatonica River. The upper 2.62 miles of Dougherty Creek, from the headwaters down to Dougherty Creek Road, were found to be impaired. Total phosphorus (TP) loading in conjunction with high Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) depletes dissolved oxygen (DO) in the creek. BOD describes the consumption of dissolved oxygen by microorganisms during decomposition of organic matter and is an indirect measure of the biodegradable organic material in the water. The TMDL focuses on identifying and reducing TP and BOD loading to the stream.
Little Willow Creek [PDF 1.87MB]	Richland	Total Suspended Solids (TSS) 09/09/08	Little Willow Creek is a 7.5 mile spring and seepage-fed trout stream in southeastern Richland County that flows south until it reaches Willow Creek near Richland Center, Wisconsin. It has a moderate to high gradient of approximately 40 feet per mile and drains an area of approximately 14 square miles. The entire length of this stream is listed as impaired due to degraded habitat from non-point source sedimentation. Current or existing use of Little Willow Creek is considered Cold – Class III trout fishery throughout the entire length of the stream. Sedimentation in down stream sections due excessive stream bank erosion and agricultural runoff combined with stream channelization results in excessive deposits of instream sediment, degrading habitat and aquatic life.
Cedar Creek [PDF 1.8MB]	Ozaukee	PCBs 09/22/08	Cedar Creek is a 28-mile warm water stream that runs through Washington and Ozaukee Counties of Southeastern Wisconsin and flows into the Milwaukee River at river mile 28. Land use in the watershed is primarily rural including agriculture (49%), wetlands (16%), grasslands and forest (26%), while urban areas cover about 3.5% of the watershed. The first 5 miles of Cedar Creek upstream of the confluence with the Milwaukee River is on Wisconsin’s 303(d) List for Fish Consumption Advisories (FCAs)1 due to PCBs in contaminated sediments.
Otter Creek [PDF 1.04MB]	Iowa	Total Suspended Solids (TSS) 10/02/08	Twenty-five mile long Otter Creek, in north central Iowa County, is impaired due to degraded habitat because of excessive sediment loading from surrounding agricultural lands to the stream. Biological parameters measured in Otter Creek (poor to fair fish assemblages, macroinvertebrate populations, habitat assessments) are directly correlated to the high Total Suspended Solids (TSS) values measured during high flow events. With this TMDL, it is expected that as sediment loadings to Otter Creek decrease, banks stabilize, and in-stream habitat improves, the narrative water quality standard will be met and the fish and aquatic life uses will be restored.
Mead Lake [PDF 551KB]	Clark	Phosphorus, Sediment 10/02/08	Mead Lake is a shallow, eutrophic impoundment of the South Fork Eau Claire River; its watershed drains 248 km2 (61,282 acres) of west central Wisconsin. Approximately 99 percent of the watershed is within Clark County, with the remaining one percent in Taylor County. The South Fork Eau Claire River is the primary source of surface water inflow to Mead Lake. The lake was placed on the Wisconsin 303(d) impaired waters list in 1998 due to sediment and phosphorus. In 2008, the 303(d) list was updated to reflect that the pollutants of sediment and phosphorus are leading to impairments of degraded habitat, pH criteria exceedances, and excess algal growth in summer which result in limited body contact recreational use. The goal of this TMDL is to reduce phosphorus and sediment loadings to Mead Lake to address, pH criteria exceedances, decrease algal blooms in summer, and address degraded habitat so Mead Lake can be improved for recreational purposes.
Hardies Creek [PDF 1.8MB]	Trempealeau	Sediment 02/01/08
Parsons Creek [PDF 4MB] *	Fond du Lac	Sediment, Phosphorus, Ammonia 09/28/07
Martin Branch, Martinville Creek, and Rogers Branch [PDF 1MB]	Grant	Sediment, Phosphorus 9/28/07
Gills Coulee Creek [PDF 4MB]	La Crosse	Sediment 09/26/06
Snowden Branch [PDF 1.1MB]	Grant	Sediment 09/22/06
Sediment Impaired Streams in the Waumandee Creek Watershed [PDF 573KB]	Buffalo	Sediment 11/01//05
Becky Creek [PDF 78KB]	Rusk	Sediment 09/27/05
Sediment Impaired Streams in the Sugar-Pecatonica River Basin [PDF 1278KB]	Dane, Rock, Lafayette, Green and Iowa	Sediment 08/24/05
Carpenter Creek [PDF 90KB]	Waushara	Sediment 12/14/04
Half Moon Lake [PDF 277KB]	Eau Claire	Phosphorus 09/08/04
Castle Rock (Fennimore) Creek and Gunderson Valley Creek [PDF 215KB]	Grant	Sediment Phosphorus 08/20/04
Trump Coulee Creek [PDF 96KB]	Jackson Trempeleau	Sediment 05/06/04
Silver Lake [PDF 179KB]	Manitowoc	Phosphorus 03/30/04
Cedar Lake [PDF 139KB]	Polk, St. Croix	Phosphorus 08/19/03
Eagle Creek [PDF 232KB]	Buffalo	Sediment 03/13/03
Joos Valley [PDF 232KB]	Buffalo	Sediment 03/13/03
Swinns Valley Creek [PDF 271KB]	Buffalo	Sediment 03/13/03
Irvin Creek [PDF 271KB]	Trempealeau	Sediment 03/13/03
Newcomb Valley Creek [PDF 271KB]	Trempealeau	Sediment 03/13/03
North Creek [PDF 271KB]	Trempealeau	Sediment 03/13/03
Welch Coulee Creek [PDF 271KB]	Trempealeau	Sediment 03/13/03
Tappen Coulee Creek [PDF 271KB]	Trempealeau	Sediment 03/13/03
Jug Creek [PDF 160KB]	Vernon	Sediment 03/13/03
Perennial Stream A (SPPI) [PDF 1427KB]	Walworth	Sediment 03/13/03
Perennial Stream B (TM2) [PDF 1427KB]	Walworth	Sediment 03/13/03
Perennial Stream D (B4) [PDF 1427KB]	Walworth	Sediment 03/13/03
Perennial Stream E (B5) [PDF 1427KB]	Walworth	Sediment 03/13/03
Spring Creek [PDF 1427KB]	Walworth	Sediment 03/13/03
North Branch Spring Brook [PDF 1427KB]	Walworth	Sediment 03/13/03
Token Creek [PDF 113KB]	Dane	Sediment Barrier 07/01/02
Squaw Lake [PDF 144KB]	St. Croix	Phosphorus 08/24/00

* The Department is committed, as resources allow, to providing an opportunity for additional public involvement on the appropriate sediment reduction requirements for the nonmetallic mine point source discharges to Parsons Creek. This additional public involvement will occur prior to implementation of the Parsons Creek TMDL requirements in WPDES permits.

For questions and comments about the material contained in this site contact: Nicole Richmond Bureau of Watershed Management.

Last Revised: Tuesday November 10 2009