Illinois Technical Resources

Watershed Planning

Blackberry Creek Watershed

Funding Opportunities

Counties
Completed Technical Inventories
Identified Resource Projects
Land Cover
Milestones
Municipalities
Planning and Technical Committee Chairs
Resource Concerns
Watershed Description

Watershed Description

The Blackberry Creek watershed drains 46,056 acres (73 sq. miles) in Kane and Kendall Counties. The creek originates north of the Elburn and flows south 32-miles to the Fox River.

Counties

Kane and Kendall

Municipalities

Aurora, Elburn, Montgomery, North Aurora, Sugar Grove, and Yorkville

Land Cover

Land Cover	Acres
Urban or Built-up	2,558
Cropland	25,798
Grassland	12,982
Woodland	2,662
Wetland	1,688
Open Water	126
Barren Land	165

Planning and Technical Committee Chairs

Planning Committee: Jim Michels

Technical Advisory Committee: John Church

Resource Concerns

Flooding in existing subdivisions (Cherry Hill, Lakeside, Prestbury, Willow Brook, and Pasadena)

Increased channel flow

Lack of wetlands and natural areas to store floodwaters

Lack of stream bank protection and buffering

Stream maintenance

Floodplain management and protection

Lack of public awareness about resource issues

Increased impervious surfaces

Low detention standards and outdated designs

Lack of open space preservation during development

Soil erosion and sediment control

Milestones

Completed watershed resource plan in 1998

Kane and Kendall Counties received funds for office space and position of Watershed Implementation Coordinator

USGS begins H&H model of watershed

Received C2000 funds to study dam removal

Completed Technical Inventories

Technical Inventories	Invested NRCS Staff Hours
Aquifers
Cultural Resources	6
Designated Use
Designated Use Support
Drainage
Fish Sampling Results Impairments
Flooding	15
Floodplain Boundaries
Geology	1
Groundwater
Hydrologic Modifications	5
Irrigation
Land Use	2
Regulatory Standards	5
Riparian Corridor	56
Soil Classification
Soil Erosion/Sedimentation	120
Stream Quality	39
Topography
Wetlands

Identified Resource Projects

Completion of the planning process resulted in forty watershed protection and enhancement recommendations. Many of the recommendations are large in scope and not project specific. As a result, an implementation committee has formed to bring these recommendations to a project level. Two project specific areas address the acquisition of important wetlands and wetland complexes, and the removal of Blackberry Dam. Seven large wetland complexes have been identified, as well as 16 high quality wetlands for long-term protection and management.