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Mill Creek GPS Locations 48 and 49

Locations 48 and 49 are where US 40 crosses over the south tributary of Mill Creek.  The creek is relatively straight and slow-moving upstream of the highway, and passes under the road through a rectangular culvert.  Water in the creek was iron-stained and algae was observed.  The creek passes through a forested area that provides a full riparian buffer.  The creek bed is sand and gravel.  Downstream of the highway, the apron of the culvert drops approximately one foot to a pool.  This drop could be a fish passage obstruction, although beaver dams downstream (as described at locations 45 and 46) may preclude migratory fish from this location.  A downed tree straddled the creek a few feet downstream of the culvert apron.  The creek banks are 0.5 to 1 m (2 to 3 feet) high below the highway, which may indicate downcutting.  The riparian vegetation is a good mix of trees and shrubs.  There was evidence of repairs to the highway embankment on the left downstream bank, which suggests that highway runoff overwhelms the capacity of the stormwater system or that the discharge in Mill Creek is periodically too high for the culvert.

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