TMDL Studies

Indian Creek

The Indian Creek watershed is located in northwest Tazewell County boarding Buchanan County and McDowell County, WV (Figure 1). The outlet of the Indian Creek watershed is located near the town of Cedar Bluff, east of Richlands. The watershed contains Pleasant Hill, Harman, Bandy, Mouth of Laurel, Busthead, Van Dyke, and part of Cedar Bluff.  TMDL development for this project is currently underway.  Indian Creek has a bacterial impairment. See the Indian Creek Forum for updates and current information.

Figure 1. Indian Creek Location Map.

The impaired segment for Indian Creek begins at the confluence of Greasy Creek with Indian Creek and runs downstream 8.86 miles to the outlet of Indian Creek at the Clinch River (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Indian Creek Impaired Segment.

Land use in Indian Creek is dominated by forested areas (78% of total area). Agriculture makes up the next largest component (14%), followed by residential land uses (8%). These were determined through automated analysis of satellite photography; if you feel these numbers may be in error, please head to the forums and post a comment to that effect! The total watershed area is approximately 21,700 acres. Land uses are shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Indian Creek Land Use.

Because there is no hydrology gage on Indian Creek, we are currently calibrating model parameters for a nearby watershed, Panther Creek in West Virginia.  Once this is complete we'll submit the documentation on the calibration to the Department of Environmental Quality and move on to water quality calibration.  At that point it will be time for another meeting!  Keep an eye on the forums for the most up-to-date information.