FAQs

A watershed is an area of land that collects and drains rainwater to a low area in the landscape such as a stream, lake, or river. The edge or boundary of a watershed is defined by the highest points and ridges around the waterbody of interest.  

Everyone lives in a watershed!  It’s our human activities within the watershed that affect local water quality and the waters of our downstream neighbors. 

By sharing what you know about your local watershed and helping others learn about it too, you are contributing to a plan of action to help protect and improve water and habitat quality and ultimately enjoy the places where you live, work, learn, and play even more.  

A watershed-based plan is a multi-objective, stakeholder-driven plan for water resources planning and management applied to the land area of the watershed of interest. These plans follow U.S. EPA and Illinois EPA guidelines, including meeting the “9 minimum elements” of a watershed-based plan, with a primary aim of protecting and improving water quality and aquatic habitat.   

While turning the recommendations of watershed-based plans into actions is totally voluntary, the more we can do as humans to protect and preserve our water resources and natural environment, the more we'll enjoy living, working, and playing in our watershed community. 

A more in-depth guide on how to develop an effective watershed-based plan can be found here.

Straddling southeastern Kane and southwestern DuPage counties, the Indian Creek watershed planning area covers 16.1 square miles and includes portions of Aurora, Batavia, and unincorporated Kane and DuPage counties. Indian Creek flows approximately 8.9 miles from its headwaters east of Batavia within Fermilab to where it meets the Fox River just north of downtown Aurora and RiverEdge Park. Two main tributary streams flowing to Indian Creek are Selmarten Creek and the East Tributary. Also included in the planning area are adjacent areas of Aurora that drain directly to the Fox River. A map of the planning area is below.   

The Indian Creek Watershed-based Plan will provide both specific and general recommendations and actions that communities, businesses, and residents can take toward the protection, restoration, and future use of the water resources and natural areas within the Indian Creek planning area. Watershed-based plans aim to protect and improve water and habitat quality by identifying projects and programs that will help achieve those goals. This plan can serve as a foundation for a sustainable and clean future for the Indian Creek watershed planning area! 

After the plan is approved by Illinois EPA as meeting the “9 minimum elements” of a watershed-based plan, the projects and programs identified in the plan are eligible for a multitude of funding and technical assistance options. These include federal Clean Water Act "Section 319" Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Program grants, as well as state and local grants such as through Illinois' Green Infrastructure Grant Opportunity program. 

Implementing the plan's recommendations will help to benefit Indian Creek, its tributary streams, the numerous wetlands, lakes and ponds within the planning area, and the Fox River. 

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) is developing the Indian Creek Watershed-based Plan in collaboration with local communities and organizations including the cities of Aurora and Batavia, Kane and DuPage counties, Fox Metro Water Reclamation District, Fermilab, Kane and DuPage County Forest Preserve Districts, Batavia and Fox Valley Park Districts, Fox River Study Group, and Fox River Ecosystem Partnership. Geosyntec Consultants is conducting the water quality modeling for the plan.  

In November 2019, CMAP received a Clean Water Action Section 604(b) planning grant from the Illinois EPA to develop a watershed-based plan for the Indian Creek watershed planning area within the Lower Fox River Basin. The Fox River Study Group (FRSG) provided additional funding to support the update and use of an existing hydrologic and water quality model which was originally developed by the Illinois State Water Survey for the FRSG. The Fox River Ecosystem Partnership (FREP) hosts a webpage that provides project and plan development news, updates, and documents. FREP also provides project updates through their monthly Downstream e-newsletter.

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) is the metropolitan planning organization and areawide water quality management planning agency for northeastern Illinois. CMAP serves the Chicago region's seven counties, 284 municipalities, and over 1,200 units of local government -- the third largest metropolitan region in the United States. The agency was established in 2005 with the mission to plan comprehensively for economic prosperity and quality of life.

CMAP and its partners developed and are now implementing ON TO 2050, a new long-range plan to help the seven counties and 284 communities of northeastern Illinois implement strategies that address transportation, housing, economic development, open space, the environment, and other quality-of-life issues. To learn more about CMAP, visit www.cmap.illinois.gov

The Advisory Team for the Indian Creek Watershed-based Plan is comprised of individuals representing a wide variety of knowledge and insights in relation to the Indian Creek watershed planning area. The Team is tasked with providing technical guidance and feedback on existing conditions and issues, developing watershed goals, contributing to best management practice recommendations, reviewing plan documents, and assisting with public outreach. Advisory Team members include:

• City of Aurora - Public Works / Engineering Division
• City of Aurora - Mayor's Office of Economic Development
• DuPage County Stormwater Management
• Fehr Graham Engineering & Environmental
• Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab)  
• Fox Metro Water Reclamation District 
• Fox River Study Group 
• Kane County Division of Environmental & Water Resources

Additional technical advisors include: 

• Batavia Park District
• BNSF Railway 
• City of Batavia
• Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
• Forest Preserve District of Kane County
• Fox Valley Park District
• Friends of the Fox River 

This watershed planning process consists of six phases:

Phase 1: Project orientation:  In this phase, the project Advisory Team was formed and the water quality modeling consultant was engaged. A project kick-off meeting with the Team was held in April 2020. A project webpage was also developed and hosted on the Fox River Ecosystem Partnership website.  

Phase 2: Watershed characterization (existing conditions):  This phase is dedicated to understanding the conditions and characteristics of the watershed. It entails gathering a variety of information including local governments, demographics, land use and land cover, topography, geology and soils, ecosystems, stream and lake conditions, and pollutant sources. This information is compiled into an report called the Watershed Resources Inventory (WRI). An interim draft WRI is available here and in the Project Documents section -- your comments are welcome! (go to the Plan Review Forum tab).  A final WRI with needed updates will be posted in early summer 2022.

Phase 3: Outreach, engagement, and plan development:  The project team is seeking input from community members and watershed area stakeholders. Please provide input and feedback on the future of the Indian Creek watershed planning area through the interactive maps, surveys, and forums/boards on this site. Your input will help shape recommendations that will be incorporated into the Indian Creek Watershed-based Plan.  

Phase 4: Draft watershed-based plan public review:  The draft plan will be available for download from the Project Documents section in early summer 2022. The project team will gather feedback on the draft and make needed updates to the plan.  

Phase 5: Final watershed-based plan development:  Within this phase, the plan will be finalized and submitted to Illinois EPA in mid- to late summer 2022 for review and approval as a watershed-based plan that meets U.S. EPA’s “9 minimum elements.” 

Phase 6: Plan approval, adoption & implementation:  The final plan is approved by Illinois EPA as a watershed-based plan that meets U.S. EPA’s 9 minimum elements. The approved plan will be posted on this site. Local watershed communities and groups are asked to adopt the plan and begin implementation of plan recommendations.

The full watershed-based plan is scheduled for completion in summer 2022.