Buffalo Creek

Buffalo Creek drains a 27.2-square-mile subwatershed of the Des Plaines River Watershed. Fed by several tributaries, Buffalo Creek flows southeast from the Village of Lake Zurich through the Buffalo Creek Reservoir into the Wheeling Drainage Ditch and ultimately to the Des Plaines River in Wheeling.  The subwatershed drains portions of south-central Lake County and northern Cook County.

Buffalo Creek  Watershed-Based Plan


The Buffalo Creek Clean Water Partnership (BCCWP), SMC, Lake County Health Department, Lake and Cook County Forest Preserves, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD), Buffalo Grove Park District, the watershed communities in both counties (Buffalo Grove, Deer Park, Kildeer, Lake Zurich, Long Grove, Arlington Heights, Palatine, Prospect Heights, Wheeling; and Ela, Palatine, Vernon and Wheeling Townships), as well as other government agencies, watershed stewards and residents participated in the planning process during the past two years. 

The plan was completed with funding assistance from an Illinois EPA Section 319 Clean Water Act grant. Cardno and Living Lands provided consulting services to complete the watershed plan. For more information, contact Mike Prusila, 847-377-7713. ​ 
Buffalo Creek Watershed Base Map

Buffalo Creek Watershed-Based Plan  

  1. Executive Summary (PDF)
  2. Buffalo Creek Watershed-Based Plan (PDF) (Des Plaines)

Buffalo Creek Clean Water Partnership

March 8th, 2017
October 27, 2016 Meeting: