Review and Recommendations for Slow the Flow Practices in Wisconsin’s Lake Superior Basin
Citation:
Wheeler, M., M. Wick, T. Hollenhorst, E. Cooney, T. Bernthal, AND K. Magyera. Review and Recommendations for Slow the Flow Practices in Wisconsin’s Lake Superior Basin. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison, WI, 2022.
Impact/Purpose:
This work will help prioritize natural flood management projects to help reduce flood impacts in the Wisconsin Lake Superior south shore watersheds.
Description:
Watersheds in the Wisconsin portion of the Lake Superior basin, specifically those in the red clay plains, are susceptible to degraded water quality from eroding stream banks, which can impact in-stream habitat and result in excessive nutrient loading (WDNR 2007a). Watershed conservation efforts in the region that seek to improve water quality in streams and rivers have largely focused on restoring and protecting hydrology by “slowing the flow.” Slow the flow (STF) practices seek to reduce peak flows with a watershed-scale hydrologic restoration approach that increases in-channel roughness and sinuosity, surface roughness, water storage in wetlands, and infiltration. Recent efforts have sought to improve implementation of slow the flow across jurisdictions, agencies, land use and land ownership types, and to identify priorities for conservation efforts across the basin. This report summarizes an extensive literature overview to inform strategic slow the flow efforts in Wisconsin’s portion of the Lake Superior basin. This report focuses on research, monitoring, and management publications covering this region, but also includes work in other areas with similar hydrology, land use, and soils.
URLs/Downloads:
REPORT.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 5482.606 KB, about PDF)https://lakesuperiorcollaborative.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/362/2023/01/STF_WhitePaper2022_reducedforweb.pdf
