NPS Photo
Hoover Creek runs close to important cultural resources like the Friends Meetinghouse.
Hoover Creek drains about 1,700 acres of agricultural, rural residential, and urban land. It also drains the hard surfaces within the National Historic Site. Agricultural land in the watershed is tiled (drained with underground pipes) and development has pressed close to the banks during the last century. This encourages the creek to flash flood in the park during peak flows. Historic structures and many cultural resources are in the flood plain. Further development on the west side of the city may result in more frequent flood occurrences than when the land was in agricultural use.
Geomorphologists believe that trees covered creeks such as the Wapsinonoc, and wetlands slowly flowed into the creeks. Highlands consisted of prairie and savanna cover. Plant roots in the prairie typically extended from 10 to 30 feet deep providing excellent pathways for water penetration into soil. Soils consisted of a spongy organic material, capable of excellent water retention.
Early settlers removed trees from the creeks and swamps in the mid 1800s and a second wave of immigrants started farming the prairie in the 1880s. These land use changes began to alter the hydrology from a ground water based system to a surface water system. Surface runoff cuts small creek channels throughout the countryside and affects water quality.
Park managers hope that better watershed planning will improve water quality, flooding, and erosion problems.
