Over the last two decades, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, has experienced significant urban expansion, characterized by increased residential, industrial, parking infrastructure, and a general rise in impervious surfaces. This transition from permeable natural landscape to engineered surfaces poses a direct threat to the region’s hydrologic balance by diminishing infiltration capacity. While previous land-use studies have relied on coarse resolution data (e.g., 15 - 30 m Landsat imagery) at the watershed scale, there is a critical need for localized, and high-resolution assessments of the land-cover change. This study utilizes the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform and Environment for Visualizing Images (ENVI) software to analyze 2-meter resolution spatial National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) data from 2008 and 2022. By performing a supervised classification of Land Use and Land Cover (LULC), we quantified the conversion of pervious landscapes to impervious cover. Our preliminary results indicate a measurable decline in potential infiltration areas, identifying specific “hazard zones” susceptible to increased surface runoff. These findings suggest a heightened risk for localized flooding and increased nutrient loading into local water bodies, which may exacerbate seasonal algal blooms. This research provides a vital, updated dataset for sustainable water management.
