Watershed Summary 

The Portage Creek and Arcadia Creek drain is 36,344 acres in Kalamazoo County. Upper reaches are predominately agricultural, and lower reaches are predominately urban. The Portage and Arcadia Creek Watershed is approved under the CMI administrative rules and was funded under section 319. The watershed drains to the Kalamazoo River, which is a Great Lakes Area of Concern related to Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) contamination and nonpoint source impairments. The watershed also drains to Lake Allegan, a 1,587-acre impoundment. Nonpoint source loads rank the two project tributaries as the first (Portage Creek) and sixth (Arcadia Creek) largest contributors of phosphorus to the river. This project has improved the water quality by significantly decreasing the amounts of PCBs and phosphorus from its watershed. 

MDEQ Nonpoint Source Links 

• City of Portage Illicit Discharge Elimination fact sheet (150 KB PDF) 
• Portage and Arcadia Creeks Watershed Transition Project fact sheet (220 KB PDF) 
• Portage/Arcadia Creek Watershed Management Planning Project fact sheet (190 KB PDF) 
• City of Portage Regional Storm Water Quality and Trailways Facility fact sheet (440 KB PDF) 
• Davis, Gourdneck, and Portage Creeks (a watershed management plan that overlaps Portage and Arcadia Creeks)

Watershed Websites 

• Portage Arcadia Creek 
• Watershed Management Plan 

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