Steuben County Watersheds
What is a watershed?
A watershed is a geographic land area within which all water (rain and snowmelt) drains to a common point, such as a stream, river, or lake.
Because water naturally moves downhill due to gravity, runoff from land use activities, developed areas with impervious surfaces, and residential properties can carry soil, nutrients, oil, pet waste, and other pollutants into local waterways. This type of pollution, known as non-point source pollution, does not come from a single location and can be difficult to control.
Understanding how water flows within a watershed helps communities make informed decisions about land use, conservation practices, and stormwater management to protect water quality and natural resources.
Watersheds are organized into Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUCs) to help manage and track resources.
In Steuben County, watersheds are commonly referenced at the HUC-8 and HUC-10 levels, representing different watershed sizes or drainage areas. HUC-8 watersheds represent the larger drainage areas, whereas HUC-10 watersheds represent progressively smaller drainage areas or subdivisions of the larger HUC-8 watershed.
Explore the watersheds of Steuben County to better understand how water moves across the county’s landscape:
Water Quality Monitoring
Water is essential to all life on Earth.
Without water, all living species would cease to exist, and, without safe water, the overall health of all living species will decline. Not only does water quality affect our health, but it also has a direct impact on our economy. Locally, real estate sales and tourism are dependent on water quality. With the passage of the landmark Clean Water Act in 1972, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state governments developed a set of standards that water resources should meet for them to be considered healthy. Water quality monitoring is critical in being able to characterize whether waterways are attaining their designated, or desired uses (i.e., sources of drinking water and supporting human recreation).
So how do we ensure our local water resources are healthy for future generations?
It begins with a well-designed water monitoring program. Determining water quality trends is an important component to a water quality monitoring program since many of our local lakes and streams are situated near the headwaters of major watersheds. In Steuben County, this includes the Fawn River and Pigeon Creek watersheds, which drain to the St. Joseph River of Lake Michigan, as well as the Upper St. Joseph River, which drains to Lake Erie. To best characterize water quality, proper science, project design, and assessment are necessary. Not only will these mechanisms assist in evaluating water quality trends, they will also help to identify potential sources of impairment and provide the information necessary to understand the source(s) and work towards improving overall water quality.
Several organizations, agencies, and colleges are conducting water quality monitoring across the state of Indiana. In efforts to develop a water quality monitoring strategy for various organizations and entities, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), in conjunction with Purdue University, and several other partners, developed the Monitoring Water in Indiana: Choices for Nonpoint Source and Other Watershed Projects as a guide for water quality monitoring groups.