Population and Acreage in the
Indiana Portion of the St. Joseph River Basin

    A river basin is comprised of a number of sub-watersheds.  The boundaries of watersheds are determined by the slope of the land surface, and the general fall("gradient") of the drainage-way, whether it be a river, creek or stream, or drainage ditch.  Glacial activity in the region influenced where the boundaries lie and how the natural drainage-ways will flow.

    The Indiana portion of the St. Joseph River Basin consists of all or portions of seven counties:  DeKalb, Elkhart, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Noble, St. Joseph and Steuben. 

    The chart below pictures the percentage of the River Basin contributed by each county.

INDIANA COUNTY	ACRES IN THE RIVER BASIN	POPULATION (Total County--2010 Census)
DeKalb	5,888	42,223
Elkhart	280,695	197,559
Kosciusko	71,277	77,358
LaGrange	242,393	37,128
Noble	192,108	47,536
St. Joseph	145,322	266,931
Steuben	149,905	34,185

    Although the total population estimates for the Indiana counties within the St. Joseph River Basin is greater than 600,000, activities centering around water resources can swell the population to greater than 1 million people!

St. Joseph River Basin Commission
227 W. Jefferson Blvd.--#1120
South Bend, Indiana   46601-1830
PHONE:  574-287-1829   FAX:  574-287-1840