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Black River Watershed

Watershed Overview

  • 530 miles of rivers, streams and drains 

  • 2 counties, 13 townships, 3 cities, 2 villages

  • 287 square miles, 183,490 acres

  • 43.8% lies in Allegan County; 56.2% lies in Van Buren County

  • 43 named lakes; 35 lakes 10 acres or larger; over 500 small, unnamed lakes and ponds

  • Lakes in the watershed are generally either mesotrophic (having moderate nutrient levels) or eutrophic (having excessive nutrients)

  • 65%-85% of the watershed's wetlands have been converted to other uses

  • Sandy soils in the watershed make groundwater vulnerable to pollution

  • 17 register dams - 11 privately owned, 4 local government owned, 2 state owned

  • Fun Fact: To cover this watershed with just one inch of rain requires 4,987,646,720 gallons of water.​​​

The Black River Watershed is further divided into 11 sub watersheds shown in the map below. More details are provided for each sub watershed by clicking the links below and on the map.

Sub Watersheds:

  1. Cedar Creek - South Branch

  2. Great Bear Lake Drain

  3. Headwaters Middle Branch

  4. Headwaters North Branch

  5. Headwaters South Branch

  6. Lake View Cemetery

  7. Maple Creek - South Branch

  8. Middle Branch

  9. North Branch

  10. Scott Creek Drain

  11. South Branch

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