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Fast Facts
Environmental Creek Assessments
Photo Gallery |
| Fast Facts |
| Population |
2000: 10,533
2030: 11,661 |
| Creek Length |
2 miles |
| Drainage Area |
2 square
miles |
| Drains To |
Colorado
River below Town Lake through Little Walnut and Walnut Creeks
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| Well Known Sites |
Well Known
Sites T.A. Brown Park, Brown Elementary School, St. John’s
Park |
| Land Use |
Residential
Business
Civic
Parks
Roadways
Undeveloped |
31%
23%
8%
2%
23%
14% |
Watershed Facts
- Despite its proximity to major roadways,
parts of Buttermilk Creek still hold much of their natural charm
- The baseflow
of Buttermilk Creek is fairly constant in the lower half of
the watershed due to springs and seeps from Austin Chalk geologic
formation.
- In response to citizen complaints, investigators
find an average of twelve pollution problems each year in Buttermilk
Creek. Sewage is the most common problem, followed by trash
and petroleum.
- Water quality is fairly good considering
the nearly complete urbanization of the watershed.
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| Creek
Assessments
Environmental
| Index |
Score |
Category |
Notes |
| Overall
Score |
54 |
Fair |
Buttermilk Branch ranks
41 out of 46 watersheds in overall quality |
Water
Chemistry |
53 |
Fair |
Water quality is average,
nitrate is high |
Sediment
Quality |
70 |
Good |
PAHs are high, herbicides/pesticides
are very low, metals are very low |
| Recreation |
52 |
Fair |
During dry weather conditions,
bacteria is usually not a threat |
| Aesthetics |
57 |
Fair |
Lots of litter present,
slight offensive odors, algae covers 10-20% of creek, water
is slightly cloudy, some of the creek bed is dry |
| Habitat |
44 |
Marginal |
Some embeddedness, cover
is insufficient, some channel alteration, bank stability is
marginal, bank vegetation is marginal, buffer zone is too
small |
| Aquatic
Life |
41 |
Marginal |
Benthic macroinvertebrate
community is poor; diatom community is fair |
- Aesthetics scores improved in Buttermilk
more than other watersheds in the City.
- Aquatic life restricted by habitat limitation
from substrate loss due to hydrologic modification.
- Impacts from US 183 construction resulted
in recent loss of riparian habitat in headwater areas near 183.
Learn
More
How to Help
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| Photo Gallery |
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| Buttermilk Creek at Cameron
Road |
Buttermilk Creek at Cameron
Road |
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Buttermilk Creek at
Chevy Chase Road |
Buttermilk Creek at
Little Walnut Creek |
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Buttermilk Creek at Providence Ave. |
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