Watershed Project
In 2021, the Vermillion County SWCD launched efforts to protect and improve Mill Creek-Wabash River Watershed and its 97,112-acre drainage. The Mill Creek-Wabash River Watershed drains the entirety of the Wabash River, Sugar Creek, Big Raccoon Creek and the Vermillion River. In total, the MCWR drains 9,789 sq mi of Indiana and 210 sq mi of Illinois. The local watershed drains portions of Fountain, Parke and Vermillion counties.
Mill Creek-Wabash River Watershed
Land within the Mill Creek-Wabash River Watershed a majority agricultural row crops and pastureland and forested, wetland land uses and developed areas covering the remainder of the watershed. A majority of watershed soils are very limited for septic use.
What is a watershed?
The Mill Creek-Wabash RIver Project focuses on protecting and improving water quality in the Mill Creek-Wabash River Watershed. All of the land from which water drains into a singular waterbody – in this case this reach of the Wabash RIver – forms a watershed. These drainage boundaries are determined by land elevation rather than state or county lines, political boundaries, or residential property lines.
Mill Creek-Wabash River Project
This phase of the Mill Creek-Wabash River Project includes three main goals:
1. Water Quality Monitoring: Water quality within Mill Creek, the Wabash River and its tributaries will be monitored once per month during the first year of the grant. Samples will be collected for a variety of nutrient and sediment parameters and combined within 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.
2. Education and outreach: The Mill Creek-Wabash River Project will engage youth and adults through workshops and field days, community events, monitoring water quality and more.
3. Watershed Management Plan: The Mill Creek-Wabash River Project will connect stakeholder concerns with water quality and computer generated data to develop a stepwise plan for protecting and improving Mill Creek- Wabash River Watershed, its landscape and its water quality. The planning process will include regularly-scheduled steering committee meetings with draft plans posted here.
Get Involved
- Join the Steering Committee meeting at the Vermillion County Public Library on November 9th at 1 pm.
- Join our volunteer list to help with future water sampling, windshield survey, clean up events and more.
- Become a Hoosier Riverwatch volunteer monitor – we’ll host the training and provide the equipment!
- Share your thoughts on the Mill Creek-Wabash River Watershed via email or phone at vp_resourcetech@iaswcd.org or 765-562-3856
- Send us data or photographs – how did this reach of the Wabash River, Mill Creek and its tributaries look in the past?
- Share information about the Project with your friends, neighbors and local groups. We’d be happy to talk with you and your group about the project.