Lower Wisconsin River Basin

Read the Lower Wisconsin State of the Basin Report

The Baraboo Rapids
WDNR Photo

Learn about the Castle Rock Watershed Restoration Project or the Baraboo River Restoration Project .

The Lower Wisconsin River basin drains approximately 4,940 square miles of south central and southwestern Wisconsin. The basin includes the Wisconsin River from the Castle Rock Flowage dam to its confluence with the Mississippi River near Prairie du Chien, and all the streams tributary to the Wisconsin along this reach, spanning all or parts of 12 counties: Adams, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Grant, Iowa, Jackson, Juneau, Monroe, Richland, Sauk, and Vernon. Water quality in the basin is generally considered good. The primary water quality problems are caused by nonpoint sources of pollution, particularly from agricultural operations, excessive populations of rough fish and hydrologic modifications such as dams, stream straightening, and the ditching, draining or other alteration of wetlands.

Read the Oak Street Dam Press Release and the Environmental Assessment for the Oak Street Dam Removal

Streams

The basin has more than 3,800 miles of streams including the Lemonweir, Baraboo, Pine, and Kickapoo Rivers. Approximately 870 miles of streams in the basin are considered a cold water sport fishery, or trout waters. Another 856 miles are warm water sport fishery waters while 115 miles are valuable forage fishery streams. DNR lacks existing use classification information for more than 2,104 of the total stream miles in the Lower Wisconsin River basin. Most of these unknown stream miles are very small unnamed tributaries, or the headwaters reaches of named streams above areas where the DNR does have information. The existing information for many of the streams is old or sketchy and additional monitoring is needed to update the surface water database.

Antidegradation

The creation of Wisconsin Administrative Code NR 207, "Water Quality Antidegradation", and changes to NR 102, "Water Quality Standards for Wisconsin Surface Waters", led to stream classifications for special protection due to their value as a resource and particular water quality. When coupled with other administrative codes, NR 207 will help set priorities by determining what kind of environmental safeguards we will apply to new or increased wastewater discharges. The purpose of the antidegradation policy is to add to the protection of the high quality streams and lakes in the state.

There are presently 41.4 miles of outstanding resource waters (ORW) and 145.5 miles of exceptional resource waters (ERW) in the basin. An additional 14.5 miles are proposed for ORW designation and 237 miles are proposed for ERW designation in the basin. These streams are identified in the watershed tables for individual watersheds.

Lakes

The Lower Wisconsin River basin has few lakes. In northeastern Monroe, southeast Jackson and Juneau counties -- an area that comprised glacial Lake Wisconsin -- most of the "lakes" are flowages created either to support cranberry culture or in an attempt to drain land for farming earlier in this century. Most of these impoundments are shallow and have little fishery value. Many do have important wildlife values. We have little water quality data on these flowages and their impacts on downstream water quality and fisheries habitat.

Another group of flowages found in the "driftless", or unglaciated part of the basin, are stream impoundments which have created small lakes. They are usually shallow and are subject to rapid sedimentation. Water quality problems which frequently limit recreational use of millponds include turbidity, excessive rooted aquatic plants and attached algae, free floating bluegreen algae, rough fish, water level fluctuation and winterkills (Marshall, 198850).

There are a few backwater sloughs and cutoffs in the Wisconsin River bottoms which are also called "lakes". We have little or no water quality data on these backwaters.

Antidegradation

Two lakes, Devil's Lake in Sauk County and Crystal Lake in Columbia County have been nominated for outstanding resource waters status under Administrative Codes NR 102 and NR 207.

Toxics

We now recognize toxic substances in surface water and in lake and stream bottom sediments as a serious problem throughout the country. While this is not a major problem in the Lower Wisconsin River basin, there are waters in the basin which presently are under fish consumption advisories. The Wisconsin River from the dam at Wisconsin Dells to the Prairie du Sac dam, including Lake Wisconsin, has an advisory for the consumption of lake sturgeon due to elevated levels of pesticide or PCBs found in fish tissue samples. The reach of the Wisconsin River from the Wisconsin Dells dam to the Hwy. 78 bridge also is under an advisory for consumption of walleye and smallmouth bass because elevated levels of mercury found in fish tissue samples. Other surface waters with fish consumption advisories due to elevated levels of mercury are the Kickapoo River near Steuben (northern pike and walleye), Lemonweir River at the New Lisbon Flowage (walleye), and Devils Lake (walleye).

Monitoring

We have a critical need for more recent water quality information in most watersheds in the Lower Wisconsin River basin. We were unable to rank four of the 28 watersheds for nonpoint source priority watershed selection because of insufficient data on surface water quality. Many of the remaining watersheds had sketchy or older information.

Basin Assessment Monitoring

Basin assessment monitoring is a systematic means for DNR to address its information needs. Basin assessment monitoring will be focused on the Lower Wisconsin River basin during 1993. Because information is either insufficient or growing old or lacking in so many of the watersheds, it is unlikely the DNR will be able address all the monitoring needs in the basin in 1993. Through the workplanning process, each DNR management district will need to prioritize watersheds it will be able to monitor. A likely approach will be to look at those watersheds which have the most stream miles of high quality or potentially high-quality water. These would be watersheds with a higher percentage of cold water fishery streams and/or outstanding or exceptional resource waters.

Toxics Monitoring

We recommend monitoring for toxics in Devils Lake, Decorah Lake, New Lisbon Flowage, Lake Wisconsin, the Wisconsin River backwater areas below the Prairie du Sac dam, Wyona Lake, three small impoundments of the Baraboo River at Baraboo, Lake Delton, and selected streams and flowages which may be affected by commercial cranberry culture.

See also...

Surface Water Data Viewer (Hint: "Zoom To" the basin)
Wisconline Resources (exit DNR)
USGS Conditions (exit DNR)
Rare Species
Invasive Species
State Parks and Campgrounds (exit DNR)
Wisconsin's State Forests
Urban Forestry Staff
Drinking Water Database
Waste Management Program Regional Contacts
Lakes by County