Preservation of natural resources can be implemented through watershed management plans. Learn more about CARPC's collaborations with stakeholders to identify and implement watershed-specific projects to provide our communities with recreational, economic, and ecological benefits.

Watershed Plans

Starkweather Creek Chloride Management

Starkweather Creek, an urbanized stream draining to Lake Monona, is one of four waterbodies in our region that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has listed as impaired by chloride. In total, there are over 40 water bodies in Wisconsin with chloride concentrations that are toxic to aquatic life. Since chloride is not removed through wastewater treatment or retained through biological cycles, reducing overall salt use is the easiest way to decrease chloride reaching water resources.

In 2020, CARPC worked with a Steering Committee of local stakeholders to develop Chloride Management Plan for the Starkweather Creek watershed. The Plan quantifies distinct chloride sources in the watershed, promotes the use of Salt Wise practices, and develops a methodology for quantifying resulting chloride reductions.

Mission
To reduce chloride sources within the Starkweather Creek watershed
Steering Committee
Friends of Starkweather Creek; Wisconsin Salt Wise; City of Madison; Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District; Public Health Madison and Dane County; The Bruce Company; Madison College; American Family Insurance; WDNR
Funding Acknowledgement
WDNR River Planning Grant UW Community-Based Water Research Grant

Lake Waubesa Management Plan

CARPC partners with the Lake Waubesa Conservation Association (LWCA) to create a Comprehensive Lake Management Plan, a critical first step in creating a long-term vision for improving and protecting Lake Waubesa. The planning process began in May 2023 and will continue through 2024. LWCA has identified five main goals for the Lake Management Plan:

  1. Reduce Agricultural Runoff and Improve Water Clarity
  2. Manage Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) in Lake Waubesa
  3. Restore and Protect Habitat Along Lake Shorelines
  4. Reduce Urban Stormwater Runoff 
  5. Increase Community Engagement and Build Organizational Capacity
Steering Committee
Regenerative Ag Research, LLC; Clean Lakes Alliance; Lake Waubesa Conservation Association; Village of McFarland; Dane County Lake & Water Resources Department; CARPC; City of Fitchburg Public Works; Town of Dunn; Friends of Waubesa Wetlands
Funding Acknowledgement
WDNR Surface Water Grant Clean Lakes Alliance Grant Donations to LWCA

Waubesa Wetlands Watershed Report

In 2018, CARPC, the Wisconsin DNR, the City of Fitchburg, the Town of Dunn, and other key stakeholders helped graduate students in UW-Madison’s Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies develop management recommendations for the Waubesa Wetlands watershed. The final report assesses possible impacts of upstream development on Waubesa Wetlands based on an ecosystem services assessment, water quality monitoring, modeling, and community engagement. Key management recommendations include restoring wetlands along Swan Creek, preserving wetlands along Murphy’s Creek, continuing and expanding surface water monitoring, building climate resilience, and sustaining and building outreach and education efforts. 

Technical Advisory Committee
CARPC; WDNR; UW-Madison; Rock River Coalition; City of Fitchburg; Dane County Land & Water Resources; Montgomery Associates Resource Solutions; The Nature Conservancy; Town of Dunn; USGS; Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Society; Wisconsin Wetlands Association
Funding Acknowledgement

WDNR & CARPC

Flood Resilience

Black Earth Creek Green Infrastructure Plan

Black Earth Creek is a Class 1 trout stream in western Dane County and northeastern Iowa County that is prized for recreation by local community members and visitors. It is a focal point of the communities it flows through, but it also presents a flood hazard that was underscored by an extreme flood in August of 2018 that caused extensive damage.

To address this flood hazard, a team of stakeholders led by the Capital Area Regional Planning Commission put together a watershed green infrastructure plan. The purpose of this plan is to identify specific projects and practices that provide flood protection along with water quality, recreational, economic, and ecological benefits.

Mission
To identify specific projects and practices that provide a quantifiable level of flood protection to communities, water quality benefits to Black Earth Creek and its tributaries, and recreational, economic, and ecological benefits to the watershed as a whole. 
Steering Committee
Village of Black Earth; Village of Cross Plains; Village of Mazomanie; Town of Cross Plains; Black Earth Creek Watershed Association; Souther WI Trout Unlimited; Gateway to the Driftless; Groundswell Conservancy; The Nature Conservancy; US Army Corps of Engineers; Dane County Emergency Management; Dane County Planning & Development; Dane County Land & Water Resources; CARPC; WDNR;
Funding Acknowledgement
DNR Surface Water Grant; USGS Cooperative Monitoring; Black Earth Creek Watershed Association; CARPC; Cross Plains Chamber of Commerce; Dane County Land & Water Resources Department; Town of Cross Plains; Town of Middleton; Town of Vermont; Village of Black Earth; Village of Cross Plains; Southern WI Trout Unlimited

Road-Stream Crossing Inventory

Wisconsin communities are experiencing higher temperatures and precipitation. These conditions increase the likelihood of severe storm and flood events. Infrastructure designed based on historic conditions may be inadequate to withstand the increased risk of flooding in our region. Without identifying and upgrading critical infrastructure, extreme weather events are likely to cause further infrastructure failure and service disruptions.

Following the Great Lakes Stream Crossing Inventory Protocol, CARPC is collecting data at town, county, and state roads crossed by perennial streams. At each road-stream crossing, CARPC staff assess the structural condition, stream health, aquatic organism passability, and overall flood vulnerability. This data is uploaded in real time to the Stream Crossing Dashboard. The resulting stream crossing inventory will help towns create a shortlist of high priority crossings that would be cheaper and more effective to upgrade before they’re damaged in a flood.

Funding Acknowledgement
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

Volume Control Technical Advisory Committee

Increased stormwater runoff from urban development across Dane County has led to increased flood risk for the Yahara Lakes, and for streams, lakes and wetlands in other watersheds. Earlier studies have led to incremental improvements in the management of runoff volume from urbanized areas, but the risk of flooding continues to increase as the result of a net increase in runoff from new urban development.

The resulting report by the Stormwater Technical Advisory Committee recommends strategies for reducing risk from future land development by requiring no net increase storm runoff from development, and by implementing opportunities to retain storm runoff in undeveloped areas of the watershed. Adoption of these strategies county-wide would prevent increases in flood risk resulting from new land development and provide protection against future risk related to the magnitude and frequency of extreme rainfalls. The adoption of these recommended strategies will also provide environmental benefits, such as maintaining stream baseflows and habitat.

Technical Advisory Committee
Dane County Land & Water Resources Department CARPC