PIKE RIVER SOIL CLASSIFICATION AND HYDROLOGICAL IMPACTS

The Root-Pike watershed has over 175 kilometers of rivers and streams that flow within it. Each of these many tributaries flows into one of the eight sub-watersheds, ultimately flowing out through urban environments between Kenosha and Racine into Lake Michigan. While all these tributaries drain to Lake Michigan through similar environments, they all are used differently by the communities they run through. This study focuses on a section of the Pike River that runs through the University of Wisconsin-Parkside campus in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Pike River, along with the Upper Pike and Pike Creek are three sub-basins in the Root-Pike River watershed located in the southeastern Wisconsin near Racine and Kenosha. The Pike River watershed starts in Racine County. From Parkside, Pike River flows east then south before emptying into Lake Michigan just north of Kenosha. The Pike River reach in this broad study consists of soil classification around five hydrologic sample points starting at the USGS gage station (number 04040002) and heads downstream. The study classifies the drainage in the watershed and the soil borehole samples on both sides of the river. The soil classification will include soil description by the horizon, mechanical analysis and the Atterberg limits. Mechanical analysis will give the grain size distribution and settling velocity. The Atterberg limits give plasticity limit, shrinkage limit, and liquid limit. While the soil has previously been classified in bulk as sandy, clayey, silt loam, and glacial till, this study provides a more detailed look at along- and cross-river variation, reflecting influences from varied topography, biology, and glacial deposition. The soil classification and watershed analysis together allow us to better understand connections between shallow groundwater flow and the Pike River’s hydrology.