the grand river - ottawa county, michigan · the grand river overview of water quality and...
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The Grand RiverOverview of Water Quality and Ecological Health
Daniel M. O’Keefe, Ph.D.Michigan Sea Grant
MSU Extension
How does surface water quality in Ottawa County
compare to other areasof the state?
Audience Polling Results from 4th Annual Ottawa County WQF - 2009
Audience Polling Results from 6th Annual Ottawa County WQF - 2011
Audience Polling Results from 7th Annual Ottawa County WQF - 2012
How would you rate Ottawa County’s surface water quality in relation to other areas of the state?
1. Excellent2. Good3. Average4. Poor5. Terrible
Excelle
ntGood
Average
Poor
Terrible
10%
51%
0%3%
35%
How would you rate surface water quality in the Grand River in relation to other areas of the state?
1. Excellent2. Good3. Average4. Poor5. Terrible
Excelle
ntGood
Average
Poor
Terrible
3%
23%
1%
21%
52%
How ‘healthy’ is the Grand River?
Image from lifeinfreshwater.org.uk
Vannote et al. 1980
The River Continuum
Headwater CreeksLow Fish Diversity
Trout, Sculpin
Midreach StreamsBalanced Energy Inputs
Suckers, Sm. Bass
Large RiversBackwaters Important
Highly Productive
Diverse Fish Species
How ‘healthy’ is the Grand River?
Elements of Water Quality
• Physical – temperature, conductivity, turbidity
• Chemical – oxygen, nutrients, toxics, pharmaceuticals
• Biological – fecal indicators, pathogens, BOD
• These factors are often interrelated
Other Components of Ecological Health
• Biological Communities – fish, invertebrates
• Contaminants in Fish – PCBs, mercury
• Stream Hydrology – patterns of stream flow over time
• Watershed – soils, land use, BMPs, nutrient sources
• Habitat – riparian vegetation, substrate, sinuosity
How ‘healthy’ is the Grand River?
Can we reduce this to a single number?
Presented at 9th AnnualOttawa County WQF
Improving Water Quality in the Grand River Basin through
Strategic Investment
City of Grand Rapids
Eric Delong, Deputy City ManagerMike Lunn, Environmental Service ManagerCity of Grand Rapids
Presented at 7th Annual Ottawa County WQF
Grand River CSO’s 2010Million Gallons
Source: Michigan Department of Environmental QualityCombined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) and Retention Treatment Basin (RTB) Discharge2010 Annual Report(January 1, 2010 - December 31, 2010)
Grand Rapids RegionUpstream (Yellow)/Downstream (Blue)
Water Quality Index (WQI)
24
WQI value Water quality Aquatic life Recreational use0-25 Poor Very limited No body contact25-50 Fair Low diversity Limited body contact51-70 Average Some stress Use with caution71-90 Good High diversity Very few limits91-100 Excellent High diversity Fully usable
Polling at 7th AnnualOttawa County WQF - 2012
Before
After
Presented at 1st AnnualOttawa County WQF
Presented at 7th AnnualOttawa County WQF
Testing conducted in 2012
Presented at 9th AnnualOttawa County WQF
Other Components of Ecological Health
• Biological Communities – fish, invertebrates
• Contaminants in Fish – PCBs, mercury
• Stream Hydrology – patterns of stream flow over time
• Watershed – soils, land use, BMPs, nutrient sources
• Habitat – riparian vegetation, substrate, sinuosity
Macroinvertebrates
• Diverse dragonflies and damselflies in lower Grand
• 2009 DEQ survey found “poor” macroinvertebratesat all three Ottawa Co. Grand River sites
• Mostly chironomids and very few sensitive species
“Bloodworms” are a larval chironomids that tolerate low O2.
Many caddisfly species do not tolerate poor water quality.
Fish Diversity
• 108 fish spp. in Grand River watershed
• ~100 in Ottawa County
• Two state threatened species in Ottawa Co.
• Diverse habitats and connectivity are critical
• 31 watersheds in Michigan assessed
• Impairment ranged from 1.7% to 90.1%
• 38.6% of rkm in Grand watershed impaired
• Grand ranked 9 of 31 most impaired
Riseng et al. 2010
Fish Inverts Both
Other Components of Ecological Health
• Biological Communities – fish, invertebrates
• Contaminants in Fish – PCBs, mercury
• Stream Hydrology – patterns of stream flow over time
• Watershed – soils, land use, BMPs, nutrient sources
• Habitat – riparian vegetation, substrate, sinuosity
Grand River (Ottawa County)
Lake Michigan
From MCDH Eat Safe Fish Gide
Other Components of Ecological Health
• Biological Communities – fish, invertebrates
• Contaminants in Fish – PCBs, mercury
• Stream Hydrology – patterns of stream flow over time
• Watershed – soils, land use, BMPs, nutrient sources
• Habitat – riparian vegetation, substrate, sinuosity
Hydrograph of a “Flashy” Stream
MDNR Figure
Factors Leading to Flashy Hydrology
• Channelization and snag removal
• Draining of wetlands and levee building
• Soil type and impervious surfaces
• Frequency, timing, and magnitude of precipitation events and climate change
Certain tributaries extensively channelized
Half of historic wetlands have been filled
Diverse soil types; 9% urban land use
Other Components of Ecological Health
• Biological Communities – fish, invertebrates
• Contaminants in Fish – PCBs, mercury
• Stream Hydrology – patterns of stream flow over time
• Watershed – soils, land use, BMPs, nutrient sources
• Habitat – riparian vegetation, substrate, sinuosity
Phosphorus Sourcesa) Atmospheric deposition
b) Manure application
c) Agricultural chemical fertilizer
d) Septic tanks
e) Non-agricultural fertilizer
f) Point sources
From Luscz et al. 2015
AgriculturalChemical Fertilizer
1 Au Sable 0.202 Black 0.373 Lone Lake - Ocqueoc 0.454 Thunder Bay 0.615 Cheboygan 0.846 Au Gres - Rifle 0.867 Betsie - Platte 0.878 Manistee 0.919 PM- White 1.0410 Boardman - Chlx 1.4611 Muskegon 1.5112 Clinton 1.5213 Huron 1.6714 Tittabawassee 1.8815 Flint 3.6216 Lower Grand 3.7717 Macatawa 3.8418 Kalamazoo 4.0619 Upper Grand 4.1320 Pine 4.1321 Thornapple 4.9822 Cass 5.1023 Kawkalin - Pine 5.3624 Shiawassee 5.9825 Maple 6.6026 Saginaw 6.7027 Pigeon - Wiscoggin 7.0928 Birch - Willow 8.39
Watershed Sources of Gross Total PhosphorusThese values are kg/ha/yr applied to land in each watershed.
Manure
1 Betsie - Platte 0.212 Black 0.223 Au Sable 0.244 Lone Lake - Ocqueoc 0.275 Manistee 0.346 Cheboygan 0.357 Clinton 0.378 Boardman - Chx 0.429 Huron 0.7110 Thunder Bay 0.7211 PM - White 0.7412 Kawkalin - Pine 0.8113 Saginaw 0.9314 Au Gres - Rifle 1.0115 Flint 1.0716 Tittabawassee 1.1017 Shiawassee 1.4718 Muskegon 1.5719 Cass 1.7320 Upper Grand 1.7921 Pine 1.9122 Thornapple 2.3623 Pigeon - Wiscoggin 2.9924 Maple 3.0825 Lower Grand 3.2426 Kalamazoo 3.5027 Birch – Willow 3.5328 Macatawa 4.99
Non-Agricultural Chemical Fertilizer
1 Au Sable 0.012 Black 0.013 Lone Lake - Ocqueoc 0.014 Thunder Bay 0.015 Au Gres - Rifle 0.016 Manistee 0.017 Pere Marquette - White 0.028 Maple 0.029 Pigeon - Wiscoggin 0.0210 Birch - Willow 0.0211 Betsie - Platte 0.0312 Cass 0.0313 Muskegon 0.0414 Pine 0.0415 Tittabawassee 0.0516 Cheboygan 0.0617 Kawkalin - Pine 0.0618 Boardman - Charlevoix 0.0719 Thornapple 0.0720 Shiawassee 0.1021 Macatawa 0.1122 Kalamazoo 0.1223 Clinton 0.1424 Upper Grand 0.1825 Lower Grand 0.2426 Flint 0.2527 Saginaw 0.2828 Huron 0.48
Values from Luscz et al. 2015
Slide Credit: Joe Duris, USGS, 9th Annual Ottawa Co. WQF
Acknowledgements
• Mike Lunn and Eric Delong, City of Grand Rapids• Dr. Joan Rose and Dr. Phanikumar Manta, MSU• Dr. Vijay Kannappan, Michigan DEQ• Sam Noffke, Michigan DEQ• Joe Duris, U.S. Geological Survey• Dr. Catherine Riseng, U of M & Michigan Sea Grant• Scott Hanshue, Michigan DNR• Dr. Don Jackson, Mississippi State University
How would you rate surface water quality in the Grand River in relation to other areas of the state?
1. Excellent2. Good3. Average4. Poor5. Terrible
Excelle
ntGood
Average
Poor
Terrible
2%
46%
0%
8%
43%
QUESTIONS?
Other Components of Ecological Health
• Biological Communities – fish, invertebrates
• Contaminants in Fish – PCBs, mercury
• Stream Hydrology – patterns of stream flow over time
• Watershed – soils, land use, BMPs, nutrient sources
• Habitat – riparian vegetation, substrate, sinuosity
Legacy of Dredging
• 1881 River and Harbor Act authorized dredging to Grand Rapids
• 1886 completion of 60’ wide 4 ½’ deep channel
• 1887 report concluded in-channel deep water connection from Grand Rapids to Lk. MI
• 1930 River and Harbor Act abandoned Grand River above Bass River
• Adjacent canal using river water proposed but never attempted…