Two people standing and looking at a map of Belleville Lake on an easel
HRWC’s Melina Pakey-Rodriguez guides a Belleville resident through a mapping activity during a community listening session in January.

In January, we connected with Belleville residents through two listening sessions to learn about their perspectives on the Huron River and local water. Since Spring 2023 we have been reaching out to residents in three Huron River watershed communities as part of our Listen>Learn>Connect project. The project explores new ways to address issues that meet local priorities for clean water. By understanding what residents think about the Huron River and local water, we can better serve these communities with work that is meaningful and relevant to residents. We’ve connected with community members in Ypsilanti, Belleville, and Flat Rock through listening sessions, surveys, and interviews to better understand local watershed priorities, values, and visions.

During the listening sessions, Belleville residents highlighted the following concerns and priorities related to water and the river:

  • Belleville Lake is thought of as the crown jewel of the community. Residents and local government staff shared appreciation of the Lake for recreation, improving quality of life, and contributing to the local economy.
  • Residents feel the water quality of Belleville Lake has degraded over time.​​​​​​ Upstream pollution is seen as a primary driver of declining water quality.
  • Boating is one of the most common water-related activities in the Belleville area. Many residents largely avoid swimming due to concerns about water quality and health impacts.
  • Algal blooms impede recreation and water-related activity in the Belleville area.
  • Industrial pollutants from upstream and nearby businesses, landfills, and airports are of high concern. PFAS was mentioned as a primary industrial pollutant of concern and has resulted in a decline in fishing and swimming activity on Belleville Lake.
  • Participants desire a centralized communication channel on water quality. They often do not know where to find up-to-date information about local water following storms or spills.

Water Recreation

A map of Belleville Lake with blue points indicating areas where residents interact with water and the Huron River
During our listening sessions, we conducted mapping activities to identify places where residents interact with the Huron River.

Boating is an extremely popular activity on Belleville Lake. Almost all participants said they enjoy boating on the Lake in the summertime. Most residents in attendance either own a boat or know someone who owns a boat. Residents also enjoy kayaking, paddleboarding, water skiing, jet skiing, and fishing on or along Belleville Lake.

As a hub of water recreation, Belleville Lake has issues with traffic, safety, and trash. Participants mentioned there are more people using the Lake, especially on weekends in the summer. They perceive that with more people recreating on the lake there has been growing amounts of trash accumulating on the shores. In addition, participants discussed how increasing traffic has resulted in issues with boater directionality, speeds, and safety, including people boating too close to the shore or getting stuck in shallow zones across the lake.

Participants found that aquatic plant growth made recreation on Belleville Lake challenging during certain times of the year. There were also concerns expressed about a lack of proper boat cleaning to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species.

Water quality varies by season. It varies by what people have done lately, especially upstream. It varies by the climate because when we had the extreme heat that’s when we got all the algae blooms . . . so sometimes it’s healthy for a New York minute!

-Resident of Belleville

Water Quality

Long-term residents of Belleville have seen a decline in the water quality of Belleville Lake over time. There was strong awareness among participants of different pollutants driving these changes in Belleville Lake and the Huron River. Many mentioned this awareness is at an all-time high among residents. Participants ​were concerned about following pollutants:

  • Upstream pollution from urban, industrial, and agricultural areas. Participants were frustrated by the repeated sewage spills into the Huron River by the City of Ann Arbor’s wastewater system.
  • Industrial pollution from upstream actors in the Ann Arbor and Milford areas but also from nearby airports and landfills. PFAS was mentioned as a particular industrial pollutant of concern. Participants were frustrated by the Do Not Eat Fish Advisory and the lack of polluter accountability related to PFAS. Some participants noted discontinuing fishing and swimming activity due to PFAS contamination in the Huron River watershed and Belleville Lake.
  • Algal blooms are a growing concern to participants. They discussed the ways algal blooms impact recreational opportunities, well-being, public health, and the economy. Participants indicated they perceive the blooms to be getting worse each year.
  • Other pollutants were also raised as drivers of declining local water quality, including trash, road salt, stormwater, septic systems, and fertilizer.

Despite the perceived decline in the water quality of Belleville Lake, participants have witnessed improvements in wildlife on the lake. They shared anecdotes about improving populations of fish, eagles, and other animal species on the lake.

What Should Be Done

Participants see many opportunities for water stewardship, education, and restoration in the Belleville area. Participant suggestions include:

  • Youth Education: Participants see youth as a potential positive force for change on water quality issues in the Belleville area. Participants would like to see more activity in schools to promote water stewardship and education, which may, in turn, facilitate awareness among parents and guardians.
  • Shoreline Cleanup: Participants mentioned that local businesses and community groups used to frequently do shoreline cleanups to remove trash along Belleville Lake. Participants want to see these events return with more frequency to mitigate the growing trash and debris problem across the Lake.
  • Aquatic Invasive Species Awareness and Mitigation: Participants suggested installing signage and equipment at boat launches to encourage proper boat cleaning techniques to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species.
  • Boater Safety: Participants want more signage across Belleville Lake to inform boaters about speed limits, shallow areas, lake hazards, and directionality.
  • Water Quality Information Sharing: As previously mentioned, there is a desire for a centralized platform about daily water quality and beach health, specifically related to bacteria contamination and algal blooms. There are opportunities explore the revival of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s Beach Guard program and identify channels for distributing water quality monitoring data to ​​residents.

Based on what we heard, HRWC staff also identified the following opportunities in the Belleville area:

  • Bank Stabilization and Green Stormwater Infrastructure: Restoration projects to mitigate shoreline erosion and sedimentation along High Street and at Hillside Cemetery. Examples of these projects include shoreline plantings, bioswales and rain gardens, and native plant gardens.
  • Stormwater Education: Despite awareness of many water quality issues, attendees expressed confusion regarding the connection between local stormwater runoff (rain and snowmelt) and the health of Belleville Lake. There are opportunities to share action tips with residents on how to improve water quality at home given the concern about water in the community.
  • Shoreline Stewardship: Participants mentioned an event previously held by local government to inform shoreline residents about best management practices to protect the lake through natural shoreline landscaping techniques and erosion control. HRWC could help revive these workshops on these topics and promote shoreline stewardship.

What’s Next

Fall trees along Belleville Lake
Belleville Lake in the fall. Photo credit: Mark Akemann

What we learned from residents in Belleville will directly inspire HRWC to create programs that align with local priorities while supporting river and community health. Over the next year, we will identify opportunities to fuse local knowledge into our programming and make community visions for the Huron River a reality.

Dive deeper into what we learned from Belleville residents during our listening sessions via our digital Story Maps. If you are a resident of Ypsilanti, we invite you to share your perspectives and feedback with us. We look forward to continuing our efforts to learn about what Belleville residents care most about related to the Huron River.

This blog post is part of a series on our recent community engagement work in three of our watershed communities. Get more information our Listen>Learn>Connect initiative.