 |
 |
|
 Printer Friendly Version |
|
|
General Information |
|
 |
|
The portion of the Huron River Watershed known as the "middle Huron" is- home to over half the population of the Huron River Watershed; - has the largest and most productive areas of active agriculture in the Watershed; and - contains the most urbanized areas in the Watershed. The middle Huron begins with the Mill Creek basin in western Washtenaw County and extends downstream through Belleville Lake in western Wayne County. The concentration of people, agriculture and industry presents challenges to the quality of the waters in the middle Huron. The map at upper right shows the entire land area in the Huron River Watershed. The middle Huron section is colored yellow. Click on the map for a more detailed map of the land area of the middle Huron.
How does the Middle Huron program help the Huron River System? In 1999, point sources, communities contributing nonpoint sources of pollution, MDEQ and HRWC signed a cooperative agreement that states what efforts the signatories will take to meet the TMDL. It includes quantitative goals to reduce the loading of phosphorus by 50% of 1995 levels in order to meet the TMDL set by the state; that is, 0.05 mg/L in Ford Lake and 0.03 mg/L in Belleville Lake. This goal is being pursued through specific strategies that have been developed and implemented over the past 9 years by the Middle Huron partners. The action plan calls for these strategies, in the aggregate, to aim for a 50% reduction in the discharge of phosphorus to the middle Huron from May to September. In general, the overall action plan calls for the partners to:
Communities and other key stakeholders within the Middle Huron have been encouraged to sign the cooperative Agreement for Reduction of Phosphorus Loading to enable the collaborative process to move forward. The aim of the Partnership is to develop a mechanism by which these strategies can be implemented in the most cost-effective manner possible. The Partnership also may provide a non-regulatory approach for achieving the goals of the Initiative, and serve as a catalyst for parties to develop and implement strategies to reduce phosphorus and other pollutants. View the Phosphorus TMDL for Ford and Belleville lakes written by the MDEQ. URL= www.deq.state.mi.us/documents/deq-swq-gleas-tmdlfordbelleville.pdf.
What does the Middle Huron program hope to accomplish? The objectives that the program seeks to fulfill are:
The most recent report on the Middle Huron program is the 2004 Annual Report. The report contains background on the nutrient pollution problem in the middle Huron, updates on indicators for water health, and fact sheets on innovative pollution prevention activities. The most recent report from the Middle Huron Stream Monitoring Program is the report on the findings from the 2005 session's study of 9 tributaries in the middle Huron River Watershed. The report includes photos and descriptions of the monitoring sites, and discussions of methodologies and results.
The Middle Huron program supports the innovative research underway by the University of Michigan under Principal Investigator Dr. John Lehman. This U.S. EPA-funded study "probes the causes and possible corrective measures for the nuisance algal blooms that currently plague Ford and Belleville lakes and which threaten Barton Pond, a drinking water supply," as the project’s website explains. The research will improve the management plan among the MDEQ, local and county governments, and HRWC. Click here to visit the project’s website: www.umich.edu/~hrstudy/.
What successes has the Middle Huron program had thus far? Middle Huron communities have adopted wetlands protection ordinances, storm water management ordinances, natural features protection ordinances, and have raised the level of water quality protection in their standards and codes. The Middle Huron program initiated the ongoing statewide discussions on development of state legislation to restrict the application of manufactured phosphorus fertilizers in 2003. A version of the language developed by the state working group recently was introduced by Senator Wayne Kuipers. Also, the City of Ann Arbor approved a local ordinance to restrict manufactured fertilizer with implementation of the programs in 2006. More than 2,600 agricultural acres in the Middle Huron have conservation practices including conservation tillage, nutrient management, and filter strips. In addition, over $200,000 of USDA funds have been supplied to farmers for the installation of best management practices on their Mill Creek sub-watershed farms. Several tributaries within the Middle Huron River Watershed have had watershed management and restoration plans developed for them as a result of the original partnerships and research conducted through the Middle Huron program. Click here for more information about the efforts in Malletts Creek, Mill Creek and Millers Creek.
How is the Middle Huron program funded?
Current financial supporters of the Middle Huron program are: Ann Arbor City
What pollutants does the Middle Huron program tackle? For more information, view the complete list of impaired waterbodies in the Huron River Watershed and the U.S. EPA List of Impaired Waters (2004) URL= http://oaspub.epa.gov/pls/tmdl/waters_list.control?region=5&huc=04090005.
Who is the HRWC contact person for the Middle Huron program? Huron River Watershed Councilor email: rlawson@hrwc.org.
Last Updated: January 2007 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |