Regional Partnership Funds USGS Monitoring of Swan Creek
At their November 10th meeting, the City of Fitchburg Common Council unanimously approved a budget amendment to provide funding for a USGS monitoring station on Swan Creek. The amendment was sponsored by Alder Gabriella Gerhardt and supported by the City’s Resource Conservation Commission.
With the passage of the amendment, the City joined the Town of Dunn and the Lake Waubesa Conservation Association, who also pledged funding for the monitoring station. The USGS will contribute the remaining 25% cost share. The Capital Area Regional Planning Commission played a key role in providing information to decision makers, and the Friends of Waubesa Wetlands were important advocates for the project.
These long term, continuous monitoring stations are crucial to obtaining the objective water quality and water quantity data necessary for making science-based management decisions for our watersheds. The information collected with the Swan Creek monitoring station will be invaluable in protecting the downstream Waubesa Wetlands, one of the region’s highest quality wetlands. The Waubesa Wetlands are recognized as a statewide wetland gem by the Wisconsin Wetlands Association because of their unique ecological and cultural significance.
The UW-Madison Water Resources Management Practicum recommended installation of a long-term monitoring site on Swan Creek as part of their study and report Assessing Land Use Impacts and Promoting Community Engagement in the Waubesa Wetlands Watershed. This study was jointly funded and directed by the Capital Area Regional Planning Commission and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Both agencies also supported the recommendation for a USGS monitoring station on Swan Creek. The monitoring station will be installed in 2021.