Battle Creek Watershed Project
GIS Map Gallery
- Creation of a land use coverage, including cropland, pasture, Conservation Reserve Program, forest, urban, and recreational.
- Analysis of rural well water samples to determine water quality trends in private wells.
- Creation of a groundwater vulnerability map to indicate areas of special concern regarding pollution potential.
- On-farm planning using the digital soil survey, Global Positioning Systems, and various data sources.
- Inventory of conservation practices."
(click on the thumbnail image to enlarge)
Cropland represents 88% of land use in the watershed. Inventorying land use is one step in understanding how water and pollutants move through the watershed. |
Average soil slopes describe the relative steepness of terrain in the watershed. The steeper areas are shown in red, and the flat areas in blue. Water drains from the steep sidehills into small streams. These streams feed the Battle Creek, which runs south through the middle of the watershed. |
Groundwater vulnerability is highest in alluvial soils (shown in red). Alluvium is soil deposited by water flowing to drainageways, and in stream and river valleys. Most alluvium in Ida County is a result of erosion from loess-covered side slopes and ridgetops. Alluvial soils often are the most productive for crops, and they also provide a plentiful supply of groundwater for many Ida Countians. These "water-rich" alluvial aquifers are shallow and not protected by bedrock; therefore, pollutants have only a short distance to travel before reaching our drinking water supply. The highly vulnerable areas cover 28% of the watershed. |
Project area covers 34,000 acres. |
