About the Initiative: watershed information & maps
One watershed. 3 states, 6 counties, 9 subwatersheds, 265,000 people, 694,400
acres.
Location
The 694,400 acre St. Joseph River watershed is located in northeast Indiana,
northwest Ohio, and south-central Michigan. Indiana occupies 56% of the
watershed, while Michigan and Ohio each occupy 22%.
With its headwaters in Hillsdale County, Michigan, the St. Joseph River flows
southwest through Williams County, Ohio; Defiance County, Ohio; DeKalb County,
Indiana; and Allen County, Indiana, before converging with the St. Mary's River
in Fort Wayne, Indiana to form the Maumee River in the Western Lake Erie Basin.
Both Noble County and Steuben County in Indiana contribute water to the St.
Joseph River, through the Cedar Creek and Fish Creek tributaries.
Maps
Land Uses
| The watershed is primarily agricultural, with approximately 64% in cropland and
15% in pasture or forage. Woodlands and wetlands are found on 10%, while the
remaining 11% consist of urban, farmsteads, airports, golf courses, and other
land uses. |
Click here for
detailed image |
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Population
The majority of the St. Joseph River Watershed is rural, with a population of
approximately 65,000 (excluding Ft. Wayne). Fort Wayne is the largest city in
the watershed with over 200,000 residents. Auburn, Indiana is the second largest
city and Montpelier, Ohio is the third largest. The population is increasing
throughout the watershed, especially in southern DeKalb and Noble Counties and
northern Allen County. Small 5-10 acre parcels are numerous in these areas. In
all three states, industry is claiming areas along interstate and major state
highways.
Soils and Geology
The topography of the watershed varies from rolling hills in Hillsdale,
Williams, Noble, and Steuben Counties to nearly level plains in DeKalb and Allen
Counties. The St. Joseph River follows the Fort Wayne moraine and flows past
numerous low bluffs and terraces. This indicates that the river was once much
wider and deeper. Much of the St. Joseph River bed is composed of sand and
gravel deposits. The average slope of the river's bottom is 1.6 feet per mile.
Soils in the watershed were formed from compacted glacial till. The
predominate soil textures are silt loam, silty clay loam, and clay loam. Soil
associations include Mini-Morley, Morley-Glynwood-Blount, and Blount-Pewamo.
Erosion and over-saturation are the major soil limitations.
Water Supply
The St. Joseph River serves as the drinking water supply for the 200,000 people
of Fort Wayne and New Haven. Fort Wayne's Three Rivers Filtration Plant
processes 34 million gallons of water daily from the St. Joseph River. The
filtration plant also operates two large reservoirs: Cedarville Reservoir in the
St. Joseph River and Hurshtown Reservoir. Together these reservoirs store over 1
billion gallons of water.
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