Upper Sugar Creek Watershed

In 2020, the Montgomery County SWCD launched efforts to protect and improve the Upper Sugar Creek Watershed. The Upper Sugar Creek Watershed drains 320 square miles of Clinton, Boone, Montgomery, and Tippecanoe counties.

The Upper Sugar Creek Watershed Project focuses on protecting and improving water quality in the Upper Sugar Creek Watershed. All of the land from which water drains into a singular waterbody forms a watershed. These drainage boundaries are determined by land elevation rather than state or county lines, political boundaries, or residential property lines. It should be noted that the Browns Wonder-Sugar Creek Watershed, which drains into the Upper Sugar Creek Watershed, has an ongoing watershed project coordinated by the Clinton County SWCD.

The Upper Sugar Creek Watershed drains portions of Clinton, Tippecanoe, Boone, and Montgomery Counties (204,370 acres) and also receives drainage from the Browns Wonder Watershed, which is in the first phase of implementation of an IDEM-approved WMP. The Upper Sugar Creek Watershed is predominantly agricultural with more than 89% of the watershed in row crop agriculture or pasture. Much of this land is in private ownership under corn/soybean rotation. Nearly 6% of the watershed is in forested, open water, or wetland uses. Approximately 5% is in residential or commercial land uses on primarily residential parcels or small communities, the largest of which is Lebanon. All homes in the watershed outside of the Lebanon WWTP are on private septic systems of unknown age and maintenance history. Most of the watershed soils are classified as severely limited for septic usage. Poorly maintained or failing septic systems are known to be a contributing factor to phosphorus and E. coli loads throughout Indiana and the Upper Sugar Creek Watershed is likely not an exception; however, county health departments do not calculate maintenance activity or failure rates.

According to the 2019 tillage transect, nearly 40% of agricultural fields were conventionally tilled within the Watershed. Conventional tillage can account for up to 5t of sediment loss per acre. More than 60% of watershed soils are considered highly erodible. Based on these data, more than 92,000t of sediment could be saved by converting more agricultural land to conservation tillage. 14 confined feeding operations are present in the Upper Sugar Creek Watershed housing more than 108,100 animals. Between these and animals housed on small, unregulated farms, more than 2,696,000t of manure are produced annually (>8,100t produced daily) within the Watershed.

Watershed Management Plan: The Upper Sugar Creek Project will connect stakeholder concerns with water quality and computer-generated data to develop a step-wise plan to protect and improve the Upper Sugar Creek Watershed, its landscape, and its water quality. The planning process will include regularly-scheduled steering committee meetings with watershed plan drafts posted for review.

Water Quality Monitoring: Water quality at 20 locations in the Upper Sugar Creek Basin will be monitored once per month for one year. Samples will be collected for a variety of nutrient and sediment parameters and combined with historic water quality data. This compilation will provide a foundation for identifying water quality issues and probable sources of pollutants. The baseline will also provide a foundation for measuring future changes in water quality.

Engagement and Outreach: The Upper Sugar Creek Project will engage youth and adults through Hoosier Riverwatch monitoring; annual project meetings; agricultural and urban-focused workshops; newsletters; local tours; and more.