An assessment of streamflow, water quality, and the effects of constructing an impoundment on Bridge Creek at Augusta, Wisconsin

Open-File Report 81-1192
Prepared in cooperation with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
By:

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Abstract

This study documents Streamflow, temperature, and water-quality conditions of Bridge Creek at Augusta, Wisconsin, and evaluates the potential effects of a proposed small impoundment on the creek. The effects are of concern to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources because the stream is a Class II trout stream.

Average daily Streamflow, from records collected during the 1980 water year, was about 50 cubic feet per second, and flow ranged from 4.5 to 1,010 cubic feet per second. Average summer (1980) water temperature of the creek was 21.0°C, and the average summer dissolved-oxygen concentration was 7.1 milligrams per liter. Water temperature did not exceed 26.0°C, and dissolved oxygen did not fall below 6.0 milligrams per liter at any time during the summer.

A computer-simulated average summer temperature below the proposed impoundment was 22.5°C with a surface-level outlet from the reservoir, and 21.9°C with a bottom-draw outlet. Dissolved oxygen exceeded 6.0 milligrams per liter in both cases.

Nutrient concentrations in Bridge Creek and comparisons with a similar impoundment at nearby Fall Creek indicate that the proposed impoundment would have nuisance weed growth. The impoundment would have a computed transit time of about 3 days, with a surface-level outlet, or 1 day with a bottom-draw outlet, assuming a normal pool elevation and a summer base flow of 7.5 cubic feet per second. Total storage in the proposed impoundment is estimated to be 48 acre-feet.

Study Area

Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title An assessment of streamflow, water quality, and the effects of constructing an impoundment on Bridge Creek at Augusta, Wisconsin
Series title Open-File Report
Series number 81-1192
DOI 10.3133/ofr811192
Year Published 1981
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Contributing office(s) Wisconsin Water Science Center
Description Report: iv, 25 p.; 1 Plate: 17.00 x 15.00 inches
Country United States
State Wisconsin
County Eau Claire County
City Augusta
Other Geospatial Bridge Creek
Scale 62500
Online Only (Y/N) N
Additional Online Files (Y/N) Y
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details