Outagamie
No
No
Yes
Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
Garners Creek, is a 5-mile stream with poor water quality. During rain events the creek flow increases and recedes very fast. Stream flows were practically non-existent in July and August (flows approximately 0.2 cfs). A very brief fish survey was conducted in August 1992, in a stretch of creek near Hartjes Road. One large pollution tolerant rough fish (carp) was found in a deep pool area and one tolerant sport fish (green sunfish) was present. The most abundant fish present were tolerant forage species, such as emerald shiners, white suckers, bluntnose minnows and creek chubs. Garners Creek receives a considerable amount of suspended solids and bacteria during runoff events. Dissolved phosphorus and chlorides were slightly elevated on several occasions. Stream habitat was rated fair to poor. Streambank erosion and failure is common with frequent slumping and raw areas form bank flooding. Gravel, rubble and other stable habitat lie under a layer of clay sediment and many of the pools are filled in. Filamentous algae covers the rocks and bottom substrate in shallow exposed areas. In the rural portion of the watershed, row crops border streambanks. Garners Creek travels a short distance through an urban area before entering the Fox River (Gansberg 1995). Additional water quality data (D.O. and temperature data) should be collected from Garners Creek to determine if there are any water quality standards violations and if it should be placed on the 303(d) list of impaired waterbodies. The next update of 303(d) impaired waterbodies is scheduled for the year 2000.
Bougie, Cheryl A. 1999. Lower Fox River Basin Water Quality Management Plan. Public Review Draft. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison, WI.
Date 1999
Author Cheryl Bougie
Condition
Wisconsin has over 84,000 miles of streams, 15,000 lakes and milllions of acres of wetlands. Assessing the condition of this vast amount of water is challenging. The state's water quality monitoring program uses a tiered approach to analyze compliance with Clean Water Act fishable, swimmable standards. The narrative summary of water condition will be posted here when one is available. See also 'monitoring' and 'projects'.
Reports
Recommendations
Navigability Determination
NE SW S32 T21N R18E; Garners Creek, trib;
Navigability Determination
20N 18E S4; Lake Winnebago, unnamed;
Management Goals
Wisconsin's Water Quality Standards (State Administrative Code NR 102) provide qualitative and quantitative goals for waters that are protective of Fishable, Swimmable conditions [Learn more].
Waters that do not meet water quality standards are considered impaired and restoration actions are planned and carried out until the water is once again fishable and swimmable.
Management goals can include creation and implementation of a Total Maximum Daily Load Analysis, habitat restoration work, partnership education and outreach and more. If specific recommendations exist for this water, they will be displayed below.
Monitoring
Monitoring the condition of a river, stream, or lake includes gathering physical, chemical, biological, and habitat data. Comprehensive studies often gather all these parameters in great detail, while lighter assessment events will involve sampling physical, chemical and biological data such as macroinvertebrates. Aquatic macroinvertebrates and fish communities integrate watershed or catchment condition, providing great insight into overall ecosystem health. Chemical and habitat parameters tell researchers more about human induced problems including contaminated runoff, point source dischargers, or habitat issues that foster or limit the potential of aquatic communities to thrive in a given area.
Grants and Management Projects
Monitoring Projects
| WBIC | Official Waterbody Name | Station ID | Station Name | Earliest Fieldwork Date | Latest Fieldwork Date | View Station | View Data |
|---|
| 127700 | Garners Creek | 10015871 | Garners Creek - Hartjes Rd. | 5/22/1997 | 10/20/1997 | Map | Data |
| 127700 | Garners Creek | 453277 | Garners Creek at Park | 5/20/2004 | 7/27/2006 | Map | Data |
| 127700 | Garners Creek | 10016542 | Garners Creek - Brookhaven Dr. - 500 Feet Down-Stream Just East Of Cth N And North Ofcth Ce | 4/2/1992 | 10/13/1992 | Map | Data |
| 127700 | Garners Creek | 10015579 | Garners Creek- Upstream Of K | | | Map | Data |
|
Watershed Characteristics
Garners Creek is located in the Plum and Kankapot Creeks watershed which is 84.04 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily agricultural (64.15%), suburban (12.56%) and a mix of forest (7.92%) and other uses (15.36%). This watershed has 193.77 stream miles, 39.36 lake acres and 1,129.50 wetland acres.
Nonpoint Source Characteristics
This watershed is ranked high for streams, not available for lakes and high for groundwater and therefore has an overall rank of high. This water is not ranked for pollution runoff.
Natural Community
Garners Creek is considered a Cool (Warm Transition) Headwater under the state's Natural Community Determinations.
Natural Communities are identified based on modeled flow and temperature characteristics. Learn More
Cool (Warm-Transition) Headwaters are small, sometimes intermittent streams with cool to warm summer temperatures. Coldwater fishes are uncommon to absent, transitional fishes are abundant to common, and warm water fishes are common to uncommon. Headwater species are abundant to common, mainstem species are common to absent, and river species are absent.