Summary
The Little Wildcat Creek Watershed Management Plan is the result of 18 months of meetings and discussion among federal, state, and local government staff, local industry, agriculture, developer, environmental, and concerned citizens. Five specific topics related to water quality concerns in the Little Wildcat Creek Watershed were discussed in great detail.
The Little Wildcat Creek Watershed is a 14-digit watershed located in North Central Indiana. It is one of 44 subwatersheds located in the Wildcat Creek Watershed. The Little Wildcat Creek Watershed drains 12,054 acres of predominantly agricultural land in Howard County and Tipton County. While Tipton County plans to keep agriculture as the predominant land use, development pressure from the City of Kokomo is rapidly urbanizing Howard County’s portion of the Little Wildcat Creek Watershed.
Data collected by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) lists high levels of E. coli in the East Fork of Little Wildcat Creek and Gord Ditch. Both waterways are on the State’s 2002 Impaired Stream List and do not meet water quality standards.
As part of this watershed planning effort, water quality samples were collected from 5 sites in the Little Wildcat Creek Watershed throughout the summer and fall of 2002. Water samples were tested for chemical, physical, and bacteriological parameters. The analysis confirmed water quality impairments listed by IDEM.
Although water quality problems in the west portion of the watershed are less significant than those on the East Fork of the Little Wildcat Creek, an evaluation of land uses reveals that nonpoint sources of nutrients in the watershed are most likely limited to agriculture, golf courses, failing septic systems, and/or direct septic discharges.