Dunes Creek Watershed
The Dunes Creek Watershed Management Project
Dunes Creek begins west of State Road 49 and enters Lake Michigan at the Indiana Dunes State Park’s pubic swimming beach. Its 7,407 acre watershed encompasses all of the State Park, Cowles Bog, and large portions the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Before the development of the residential areas, industry, and farmland, Dunes Creek, fed by the Great Marsh, meandered slowly northward through woodlands and interdunal areas. Many sections of the Creek have been straightened and the surrounding wetlands ditched and drained. Dunes Creek has been listed on the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM’s) Impaired Waters List for E. coli and impaired biotic communities since 1998.
Dunes Creek
Watershed Group Vision:
A healthy Dunes Creek watershed ecosystem that supports species diversity, protects lake Michigan water quality, and improves the quality of life in Porter County while maintaining the important social, economic, and recreational uses of the area.
SDCF coordinated the development of a watershed management plan for Dunes Creek. The final Dunes Creek Watershed Management Plan (DCWMP) has been approved and guides the process of improving water quality in the Dunes Creek watershed. SDCF is currently funded by IDEM to implement sections of the DCWMP, Implementation projects include installing agricultural and urban best management practices (BMPs), a septic system survey, wetland restoration, and education and outreach. An ongoing volunteer water quality monitoring program helps SDCF to evaluate the implementation of the plan.
Downloads:
