• A watershed is defined as all the land that drains to a river or a lake.
  
  
• All of the creeks and streams in the Black River Watershed flow to the Black River, and eventually into Lake Michigan at South Haven.
  
  
• Our Black River Watershed is important because we rely on its water for drinking, recreation, industry, and tourism.
  
  
• Watershed "management" addresses water related issues within a watershed. This requires working across county, township, and other boundaries for the obvious reason that water flows over them.
  
  Black River Watershed Facts
  
  
• The land area of the Black River Watershed is approximately 183,490 acres, or 287 square miles.
  
  
• The Black River Watershed encompasses portions of both Allegan and Van Buren Counties.
  
  
• This watershed contains a variety of land uses such as: Agriculture (54%), Forest (36%), Urban/Developed (5%), Wetlands (3%), and Other uses (2%).

Documents/Forms:
Black River Watershed Map