The Hinkson Creek is a 26 mile long creek which originates just east of Hallsville and travels southwest where it empties into the Perche Creek in southwest Columbia. Throughout the 26 mile stretch of the creek, several large tributaries spill into the Hinkson increasing the total amount of land relying on the Hinkson Creek for rain water runoff to about 88.5 square miles, all of which is in Boone County. Of the 26 miles, 14 miles on the Hinkson Creek (nearly all of the creek immediately south of interstate 70) is considered impaired and is placed on the EPA's 303(d) list of the Clean Water Act. Because the Hinkson Creek is placed on the 303(d) list, TMDLs (Total Maximum Daily Loads) have to be set for the creek's water. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has been testing the impaired portion of the creek over the last several years for a variety of contaminants such as metals, organic compounds, salts, and others. Each year, the Hinkson Creek has failed to have sufficient aquatic wildlife diversity to be considered a fully functioning stream, although no single contaminant was ever found to be at fault during the DNR water tests.

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