Central Wisconsin basin
The Central Wisconsin Basin is a subset of the entire Wisconsin River corridor, located in central Wisconsin. The Central Wisconsin Basin extends south from the Merrill dam located on the Wisconsin River in Lincoln County to the Castle Rock Flowage Dam in Juneau and Adams counties. The Wisconsin River is divided into three segments distributing the workload equally between three Wisconsin DNR regions and offices. The basin is 4,021 square miles with an estimated population of 301,599 (+/- 1%).
The Central Wisconsin River Basin is comprised of 29 watersheds. A watershed is an area of land that is drained by a waterway that flows to a lake, reservoir or river. The watershed boundary line is defined as a topographic dividing line from which surface streams flow in two different directions.
The Central Wisconsin River Basin contains numerous scenic vistas including rock outcroppings and flowages. This basin is characterized by agricultural activities throughout the basin with intensive row cropping taking place in the central sands region. The last glaciers to cover Wisconsin only extended through part of the basin. The glaciers created a network of warm and coldwater streams fed by surface and groundwater sources that all connect to the Wisconsin River. The Central Wisconsin River Basin has one of the largest and most diverse arrays of surface water systems in the state. In fact, the Central Wisconsin River Basin contains over 2,873 miles of streams. The counties of Adams, Clark, Jackson, Juneau, Langlade, Lincoln, Marathon, Marquette, Portage, Shawano, Taylor, Waushara and Wood partially or fully lie within the Central Wisconsin Basin.
Water resource information for specific watersheds
Watershed name/view details | Watershed size | Lists (streams, lakes, bays & harbors) | Counties | Water management unit (WMU) | Major drainage system |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Big Roche A Cri Creek | 177 mi 2 | CW06 Water lists | Adams, Juneau, Waushara | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Black Creek | 88.54 mi 2 | CW25 Water lists | Marathon, Taylor | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Bull Junior Creek | 60.63 mi 2 | CW19 Water lists | Marathon | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Cranberry Creek | 127.51 mi 2 | CW03 Water lists | Juneau, Wood | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Devil Creek | 68.5 mi 2 | CW28 Water lists | Lincoln, Marathon | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Fourmile and Fivemile Creek | 213.96 mi 2 | CW10 Water lists | Portage, Wood | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Fourteenmile Creek | 184.15 mi 2 | CW07 Water lists | Adams, Juneau, Portage, Waushara, Wood | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Hemlock Creek | 96.39 mi 2 | CW04 Water lists | Wood | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Johnson and Peplin Creeks | 63.06 mi 2 | CW15 Water lists | Marathon, Portage | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Little Eau Claire River | 126.97 mi 2 | CW13 Water lists | Marathon, Portage | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Little Eau Pleine River | 263.3 mi 2 | CW14 Water lists | Clark, Marathon, Portage, Wood | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Little Rib River | 92.44 mi 2 | CW24 Water lists | Lincoln, Marathon | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Little Roche A Cri Creek | 196.2 mi 2 | CW01 Water lists | Adams, Juneau, Marquette, Waushara | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Lower Big Eau Pleine River | 138.59 mi 2 | CW17 Water lists | Marathon | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Lower Eau Claire (Marathon Co.) River | 172.75 mi 2 | CW20 Water lists | Marathon | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Lower Rib River | 129.82 mi 2 | CW23 Water lists | Marathon | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Lower Yellow (Juneau Co.) River | 261.05 mi 2 | CW02 Water lists | Adams, Jackson, Juneau, Wood | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Mill Creek | 166.85 mi 2 | CW11 Water lists | Portage, Wood | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Mosinee Flowage | 81.83 mi 2 | CW16 Water lists | Marathon | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Pine Creek | 128.86 mi 2 | CW29 Water lists | Langlade, Lincoln | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Plover and Little Plover Rivers | 202.19 mi 2 | CW12 Water lists | Langlade, Marathon, Portage, Shawano | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Sevenmile and Tenmile Creeks | 112.24 mi 2 | CW09 Water lists | Adams, Portage, Waushara, Wood | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Springbrook Creek | 69.77 mi 2 | CW21 Water lists | Langlade, Marathon | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Trappe River | 100.15 mi 2 | CW27 Water lists | Langlade, Lincoln, Marathon | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Upper Big Eau Pleine River | 219.52 mi 2 | CW18 Water lists | Clark, Marathon, Taylor | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Upper Eau Claire River | 221.36 mi 2 | CW22 Water lists | Langlade, Marathon | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Upper Rib River | 197.07 mi 2 | CW26 Water lists | Lincoln, Marathon, Taylor | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Upper Yellow (Wood Co.) River | 212.95 mi 2 | CW05 Water lists | Clark, Marathon, Wood | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Wisconsin Rapids | 133.92 mi 2 | CW08 Water lists | Adams, Juneau, Portage, Wood | Central Wisconsin | Mississippi River |
Projects
Watershed plans
One watershed plan has been updated in this basin. These documents are updates to the Central Wisconsin basin plan.