Water Quality

Soil is the number one pollutant in lakes, rivers and streams. Many erosion control practices such as filter strips, field borders, water & sediment control basins (WASCoBs), and grassed waterways help keep our streams free of sediment. Because of its commitment to promoting water quality, the SWCD was awarded nearly $9,000 in 2002 in state monies to cost-share with landowners on the installation of field borders.

Citizen awareness is a large factor in keeping surface water free of sediment. That's why the Warrick SWCD promotes the Hoosier Riverwatch program. The SWCD recently hosted a two-day seminar for adult volunteers who wish to monitor creeks and streams, or teach students to do the same. Monitoring is done through physical, chemical, and biological testing. Two test kits are maintained by the SWCD for use, free of charge, by trained volunteers. The results are submitted to the Hoosier Riverwatch website for use as background information for creek clean-ups, grant applications, and as baseline data.

About half of Warrick County drains into Pigeon Creek. Pigeon Creek has been ranked as one of the most impaired waterways in Indiana. The Warrick SWCD has taken steps toward improving the water quality in Pigeon Creek by joining with the Gibson, Vanderburgh, and Posey County SWCDs to apply for grants. The Pigeon Creek Diagnostic Study was accomplished through grants from IDNR Division of Soil Conservation and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM). Through detailed testing and computer modeling the creeks that empty into Pigeon Creek were ranked so that action could be taken to protect the cleanest and improve the most impaired. The districts obtained grants from IDEM to hire Watershed Restoration Coordinator Rick Obenshain, to write a watershed management plan, and provide cost-share money for installation of best management practices within the Pigeon Creek watershed.