The Geneva Lake Environmental Agency has applied for a Small-Scale Lake Planning Grant from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource to cost share in the Big Foot Creek watershed study.
The study will involve sampling Big Foot Creek at several location to better understand and ultimately abate some of the water quality issues within the creek.
For years Big Foot Creek has discharge “red” colored water into Geneva Lake. Studies conducted in past years have found the creek to have other water quality issues.
The watershed study is the first step in the project to understand those water quality issues, identifying their cause and to develop a remedial action plan. Project goals are to reduce the red discharge, increase oxygen in the creek and reduce the phosphorus loading to Geneva Lake from Big Foot Creek.
The agency is hoping to develop a partnership with Lake Geneva’s Badger High School and key property owners for conducting the field sampling, data analysis and the drafting of a finding’s report. It is anticipated that the project will start this spring and run through late fall 2019. The Environmental Education Foundation has committed financial support to assist with the development of the Badger High partnership.
This Big Foot Creek project is part of the Phosphorus Initiative that involves an alliance of the Geneva Lake Environmental Agency, the Geneva Lake Conservancy, the Geneva Lake Association and the Walworth County Land Use and Resource Conservation Department.
