The Buffalo-Eighteenmile Creek Watershed

The Buffalo River-Eighteenmile Creek Watershed is located at the western end of New York State and covers an area of approximately 460,371 acres over parts of two counties: Erie County to the west and Wyoming County to the east. The watershed drains to Lake Erie through the Buffalo River, Eighteenmile Creek and a number of smaller streams directly tributary to Lake Erie between Sunset Bay at the mouth of Cattaraugus Creek and the mouth of Scajaquada Creek at the Niagara River in the City of Buffalo.

Annual rainfall is 35 to 40 inches with slightly higher average annual rainfall in the higher elevation areas in the southern part of the watershed. Annual snowfall ranges from 100 inches per year in the northern part of the watershed to over 200 inches per year in the “snowbelt” in the south-central portion of the watershed. Soils are variable with glacial till and glacio-fluvial soils in majority of the watershed and lacustrine, outwash and glacial lake beach-ridge soils along the northern and western edge of the watershed. The watershed includes the southern half of the City of Buffalo, the second largest city in New York State along with the surrounding heavily urbanized suburbs of central Erie County. To the south and east, the watershed is progressively more rural, agricultural and forested.

Close proximity to Lake Erie impacts rainfall and snow patterns, moderating the climate of the region allowing for production of a diverse variety of crops. There are 904 farms and 55,700 acres of pastureland within the watershed. Important agricultural sectors include dairy, vegetable production, nursery stock, greenhouse horticulture, vineyards and small fruit production along with milk, cheese and food processing.

The Eden Valley within the Eighteenmile Creek portion of the watershed is among the top agricultural regions in New York State, producing high value vegetable crops and floricultural and horticultural commodities including geraniums, poinsettias and a wide variety of bedding plants. Seasonal farm markets are numerous throughout the watershed. A number of major wholesale markets and milk and cheese processing facilities are located within the watershed. Few areas in the northeast match the agricultural diversity of this part of Western New York and the region is rich in scenic and cultural diversity with its major metropolitan and suburban areas, quaint rural villages and hamlets, shale gorges, rolling hills and wooded hillsides.

Fifty-eight miles of streambank stabilization, along with considerable upland treatment, was completed throughout the Buffalo Creek Watershed in the 1950s through the early 1960s with ongoing maintenance activities coordinated by the Erie and Wyoming Counties Joint Watershed Board. For more information on the Buffalo Creek Watershed Project visit the NRCS National Flood Prevention Web site. Streambank protection and riparian habitat restoration remain important resource management concerns in the watershed and watershed research remains a regional priority.

• Great Lakes Center
  The Great Lakes Center is a multidisciplinary research, education and service institute with a primary focus on the Great Lakes.

Other resource concerns revolve around water quality and erosion and sediment control, particular as it relates to flooding prevention and resuspension of contaminated sediments. The Buffalo River is one of the United States – Canadian International Joint Commissions 42 “Areas of Concern” throughout the Great Lakes Basin.

• Great Lakes Area of Concerns - Buffalo River Area of Concern
  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Nearly one million people in the region rely on Lake Erie for potable water. While the supply of water is ample, the quality of the untreated water has been degraded or threatened by Great Lakes-wide, stormwater runoff, over fertilization and runoff from farms and lawns, and poor sewage treatment practices causing high phosphorous and nitrate levels in Lake Erie and the lower reaches of the streams in the watershed.

Most point sources, including municipal sewage discharges are reasonably well controlled since the days when Lake Erie was declared “dead.” Improvements in the condition of Lake Erie resulted from bans on phosphates in detergents, improvements in municipal wastewater treatment, and major reductions in nutrient and sediment runoff from farms. Average annual soil erosion on all cropland throughout the watershed is well below the USDA “tolerable” soil erosion rate although non-point sources of pollution remain of concern and nutrient, manure and pest management are particularly important agricultural conservation practices in this watershed. Urban sprawl and loss of prime and important farmland are also of significant concern throughout the watershed.

Map of Buffalo-Eighteenmile Creek Watershed

For general and application information, visit our CSP homepage.

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Self-Assessment Workbook (PDF; 941 KB)

Contact Information

District Conservationist

John Whitney
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
50 Commerce Way
East Aurora, New York 14052
Telephone; 716-652-1400

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