BACKGROUND
The Williams Creek Watershed upstream of the Hamilton/Marion County line encompasses about 16 square miles of drainage area in Hamilton County, City of Carmel, and City of Westfield Indiana. The watershed area map can be accessed from the Watershed Page.
According to Hamilton County Surveyor, Kenton C. Ward, “Population growth and continued development of this watershed have raised water quality and flooding concerns.” Water resource problems for the developed portions of the watershed are expected to be typical of areas where fields, natural woods, grass fields, and wetlands have been converted to impervious surfaces and where highly erodible soils are exposed. Typical, potential problems in these types of areas include increased downstream flooding (duration, peak, or both), loss of riparian habitat, eroded channels, high turbidity, excess sediment loads, and potentially high bacteria concentrations, such as E.coli.
