The Elm Creek Watershed Management Commission has adopted a number of goals and policies to preserve and use natural water storage and retention systems and address issues related to water quantity, water quality, recreation, fish and wildlife, enhancement of public participation, information and education, public ditch system management, groundwater management, shoreland management, wetland management, and soil erosion management.
The primary goals of the Commission are to:
1. Protect, preserve, and manage surface water resources.
2. Manage public expenditures needed to study and control and/or correct flooding and water quality problems.
3. Educate and inform the public on pertinent water resource management issues and increase public participation in water management activities.
4. Establish more uniform local policies and official controls for surface water management.
The Commission conducts lake and stream monitoring programs to track water quality and quantity conditions. The Commission began monitoring Elm Creek and its tributaries in 1975, and the lakes within the watershed in 1980. The Commission conducts chemical, physical and biological monitoring of the streams, and physical and chemical monitoring of lakes. The Commission may periodically participate in special studies if a need is identified, or in larger projects such as a diagnostic-feasibility study of a lake, as funding allows.