Black River Watershed

The larger watershed is divided into 11 sub watersheds shown in map below. More details are provided in the left menu for each sub watershed.

Watershed Overview

530 miles of rivers, streams and drains 

2 counties, 13 townships, 3 cities, 2 villages

287 square miles, 183,490 acres

43.8% lies in Allegan County; 56.2% lies in Van Buren County

43 named lakes; 35 lakes 10 acres or larger; over 500 small, unnamed lakes and ponds

Lakes in the watershed are generally either mesotrophic (having moderate nutrient levels) or eutrophic (having excessive nutrients)

65%-85% of the watershed's wetlands have been converted to other uses

Sandy soils in the watershed make groundwater vulnerable to pollution

17 register dams - 11 privately owned, 4 local government owned, 2 state owned

Fun Fact: To cover this watershed with just one inch of rain requires 4,987,646,720 gallons of water.