Summary
Allen County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) received a 205j grant in 2019 from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) to write a Watershed Management Plan (WMP) for the Flatrock Creek – Auglaize River watershed. Flatrock Creek – Auglaize River Watershed is located in parts of Allen and Adams Counties in Indiana and Paulding and Van Wert Counties in Ohio. The Flatrock Creek – Auglaize River watershed consists of five subwatersheds- Wildcat Creek (HUC 041000071205), Headwaters Flatrock Creek (HUC 041000071201), Bohnke Ditch (HUC 041000071203), Hoffman Creek (HUC 041000071202), and Brown Ditch (HUC 041000071204).
There are approximately 289 miles of streams in the project area. Flatrock Creek proper is a 57.2-mile-long stream, originating in Adams County, Indiana. It flows easterly to Van Wert County, Ohio, then turns near Wolfcale, Ohio to flow northwest to Monroeville, Indiana. In Monroeville, Flatrock Creek flows northeast and crosses the Indiana/Ohio State line into Paulding County, Ohio. Flatrock Creek continues to flow northeast to meet the Auglaize River approximately 10 miles southwest of Defiance, Ohio.
The majority of land use in the project watershed is row crop agriculture (89%) while industrial, urban, and suburban land uses accounts for 6% of land use. The Flatrock Creek – Auglaize River WMP was approved by IDEM and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in March 2023. The Steering Committee used the Tetra Tech load reduction data to develop the goal statements for total phosphorus, nitrogen, and total suspended sediment. The approved WMP includes goals to reduce the pollutant loading of nitrogen by 297,800 lbs./year, phosphorus by 87,200 lbs./year, and sediment by 10,450 tons/year. The E. coli goal is expressed in the percentage of decrease needed to meet the target number, <235 cfu/100 ml. The overall project progress will be tracked using the action register as a guide for the schedule of activities to be completed throughout the future.