Upper West Branch Pecatonica River Watershed (SP10)

The Upper West Branch Pecatonica River watershed, depicted with the Mineral Point and Sudan Branches Watershed map (above), is in southwestern Iowa and northwestern Lafayette counties. The principle land use in the watershed is agriculture, dominated by row crop cultivation. Two small permittees discharges to surface water in the watershed, the communities of Rewey and Cobb. This watershed is a recently completed nonpoint source priority watershed project. The project was less than successful due to lack of landowner participation. The Upper West Branch Pecatonica River Priority Watershed Plan detailed many of the problems caused by sources of polluted runoff in the watershed (WRM, 1982). The DNR did nonpoint source evaluation monitoring of sites in the watershed and concluded that the best management practices installed were effective in reducing agricultural nonpoint source pollution. A detailed report of the evaluation monitoring effort, Upper West Branch Pecatonica River Priority Watershed Project: Bioassessment Final Report, is available through the Bureau of Water Resources Management.

Any comments or suggestions, please email the watershed contact Jim Amrhein.