Get to Know Your Geist Watershed

A watershed is an area of land where all water from rain or snow drains into a lake or stream. Ours is called the Geist Reservoir/Upper Fall Creek Watershed and is about 140,000 acres, including the 1,900 acre Geist Reservoir. Land use is about 72% agricultural, 16% urban, and 11% forest and wetlands.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management measures water quality in our streams and reservoir. This data is used to identify areas within our watershed that have water quality problems.

The Geist Watershed consists of 9 subwatersheds. High priority areas contain more water contaminants than low priority areas.

By analyzing differences in land use and water quality, we may be able to identify sources of water contaminants. This analysis helps direct corrective actions that have the best chances of cleaning up our water.

For more information, please check out the Geist Watershed Management Plan. A draft version is available online at www.Geistwatershed.com.