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CHAPTER 2
DESCRIBING THE SUBWATERSHEDS
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2.1 Project Location
The White River Watershed Project encompasses three 14-digit subwatersheds that are part of the
larger White River Basin in Indiana (Figure 2.1). The White River Basin encompasses 11,350
square miles, starting in Randolph County (where the West Fork of the White River begins in an
agricultural field), and ending in Gibson County (where the White River drains into the Wabash
River). (USGS, http://www-dinind.er.usgs.gov/nawqa/wr00002.htm)
Nested within the White River Basin is the Upper White River Watershed, an 8-digit HUC
watershed (05120201). (Hydrologic Unit Code is the official numbering system for watersheds
nation-wide.) It also begins in Randolph County then extends southwesterly to Monroe and
Brown Counties, encompassing (wholly or in part) a total of sixteen counties. The main
waterbody flowing through this watershed is the west fork of the White River, which flows for
356 miles and drains 5,600 square miles. Land use in the watershed is predominately
agriculture (primarily corn and soybean production), which represents approximately 76 percent
of the total land cover. (IDEM (OWQ), 2001)
Indianapolis is the state capitol and largest city in the watershed, with Muncie and Anderson
following as the next largest cities. The West fork of the White River, from Farmland to its
confluence with the Wabash River, is on the Outstanding Rivers List for Indiana, as having
outstanding ecological, recreational, or scenic importance. (IDEM (OWQ), 2001)
Figure 2.1: Map of the White River Basin with Selected Subwatersheds
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The Upper White River Watershed encompasses the lower two-thirds of Delaware County, for a
total 174,829.90 acres (273.1812 square miles). In Figure 2.2, the pink shaded areas are the three
14-digit HUC subwatersheds included in this management plan: they are the Killbuck/Mud
Creek (05120201040010) (15.7 square miles), Buck Creek (05120201020020) (25.1 square
miles), and Prairie Creek (051