OTHER RESEARCH
Fisheries Research
Impervious Surfaces

If you are aware of other research that is happening in the water and land resources of the Huron River that should be linked through this webpage, please contact the HRWC webmaster at webmaster@hrwc.org.

AQUATIC INVERTEBRATES

• HRWC's Adopt-A-Stream program collects information about aquatic invertebrates at over 70 sites in the Huron River and its tributary streams in order to monitor the quality of the stream water. The program sponsors River RoundUp days in April and September and a Stonefly Search day in January.

  Results and analysis of aquatic invertebrates found on each monitoring day by site are available on the HRWC Reports & Publications webpage.

  Data collected by the Adopt-A-Stream program from its inception in 1992 through 1999 was analyzed in 1999 and a report was issued. The analysis included stream physical characteristics data as well as aquatic invertebrate data. The report "Current Conditions, Recent Changes, and Major Threats to the Huron River: A Report Based on Eight Years of Citizen Monitoring" is available on the web as a pdf file (4.48 megs).

FISHERIES RESEARCH

• Institute for Fisheries Research (IFR): An annual survey of rockbass and small mouth bass populations in the Huron River is done by the IFR as part of an ongoing research project. The IFR is located on the main campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. In October 1999, two sites were surveyed along the main Huron River -- Hudson Mills site and Zeeb Road site.

  The IFR can be contacted for a full analysis of this survey and its associated research study at: IFT, 1109 N. University, 212 Museums Annex Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-3554 or by phone at 734/663-3554.

• Fisheries Division of the Michigan DNR: One of the responsibilities of the Fisheries Division is to inventory public water bodies. Major lakes and streams of the Huron River system are generally inventories about every 5 years on a rotating basis. For the latest fisheries survey of a particular lake or stream, call the general Fisheries Division Office in Livonia at 734/953-0241 and request the most recent survey of that water body.

  Survey reports released in the summer of 2001 include the following lakes done during spring of 1999 -- Belleville Lake, Ford Lake, Kent Lake, Pontiac Lake and Big Portage Lake.

  For specific questions related to fisheries for lakes and waters in the Huron River system, the Fisheries Division contact is Jeff Braunscheidel by e-mail at braunscj@state.mi.us or by phone at 734/953-1481.

• Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC): The MUCC has lake maps of all public access lakes in Michigan. These maps are hydrographic maps that show the depth contours of the lake (and are useful if you want to know where the holes in the lake are). Call 800/777-6720 for info on the costs of the map and shipping and to order maps.

IMPERVIOUS SURFACES

• Huron River Watershed Council and Planning & Zoning Center, Inc.: "Guidebook on Using Impervious Surface and Gravel Road Capacity Analysis to Manage Growth in Rural and Suburban Communities" a/k/a "How Much Development is Too Much?" -- (note: this pdf file is quite large - 10.4 megs. If this file size is too large for your web connection to handle, refer to the contact information at the bottom of this item to have a guidebook plus the CD of appendices mailed to you.) The guidebook and accompanying CD-ROM provide communities with new tools to develop defensible standards to better manage growth. The guidebook instructs communities on how to determine the traffic capacity of gravel roads and the threshold of impervious surface area above which local streams will begin to degrade.

  PROBLEM: SPRAWL AND GRAVEL ROADS
  Much of the rural large-lot residential development occurring in the state is in areas served by gravel roads. As growth continues, these roads become pitted and bumpy and require ever more frequent road grading. County road commissions, the agencies responsible for maintenance of these roads, have found it increasingly challenging to meet these road improvement needs.

  PROBLEM: SPRAWL AND WATER QUALITY
  Large-lot development also threatens the health of rural tributary streams. As impervious surfaces such as roads, rooftops, and even manicured lawns increase, storm water runoff causes flooding and reduced water quality. Studies have shown that once only 8 – 10% of a watershed becomes impervious, the receiving stream begins losing the ability to support aquatic life. Research also shows that large-lot subdivisions increase imperviousness by 10 to 50% more than do traditional town developments with the same number of households, and that they deliver up to three times more sediment into waterways.

  SOLUTIONS
  The Guidebook and sample zoning regulations are provided that local governments can use to determine the traffic capacity of gravel roads and the threshold of imperviousness above which local streams would begin to degrade. Also, the Guidebook presents planning and zoning standards and policies to manage growth to maintain gravel road capacity and stream quality.

  Copies of the "How Much Development is Too Much?" Guidebook and CD-ROM of appendices are available from the HRWC. Shipping and handling charges apply. Contact Elizabeth or Laura at 734/769-5123 for details.

  The People and Land Program of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation provided the funding for the project.

• HRWC White Paper: "Watershed Planning: Determining Impervious Surface Capacity to Better Manage Growth at the Rural/Urban Fringe" (pdf file is 1,808kb). This white paper describes research about the link between development, impervious surfaces, density, and water quality. It provides the scientific background for the methodologies and recommendations given in the Guidebook, "How Much Development is Too Much?".

• Washtenaw County Drain Commissioner: " Impervious Reduction and Mitigation in Tributaries of the Huron River" -- A Stormwater Management Study of Ann Arbor, Scio and Superior Townships, dated November 1999.

  Last Updated: February 2006