Watershed Management Plans and Reports Copyright (c) 2013 Grand Valley State University All rights reserved. http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/wmpr Recent documents in Watershed Management Plans and Reports en-us Fri, 25 Jan 2013 23:08:54 PST 3600 Lower Grand River Watershed Management Plan http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/wmpr/6 http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/wmpr/6 Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:47:15 PST A Watershed Management Plan (WMP) considers many aspects of water usage and functions, and coordinates them into a comprehensive plan for managing the activities that govern how our natural resources are utilized or viewed. A WMP is developed to provide direction and prioritize how resources are used for the management, protection, or restoration of a watershed. A watershed approach is ideal for managing water resources since they cross jurisdictions and political boundaries. Often this fluid nature of water is overlooked or taken for granted. Water flows over the ground and picks up pollutants before reaching a lake, stream, wetland, or river. This same water is used for irrigation, swimming, aquatic life, and drinking. The Lower Grand River WMP takes into account the many needs that water resources must meet and composes a vision for the future.

This watershed project chose to focus on the portion of the Grand River Basin below the Looking Glass River confluence, near the City of Portland. This portion of the basin was referred to as the Lower Grand River Watershed (LGRW). Rather than following traditional guidelines for WMP development, the LGRW project produced a guidance document for creating WMPs for subwatersheds. The LGRW is intended to be used as a catalyst for developing other WMPs. One of the goals of this project is to develop a watershed organization that can serve as an umbrella for existing watershed management efforts or help establish future subwatershed groups. This WMP will be highly useful in the planning stage for future watershed projects.

A report to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1995 discovered that certain barriers to successful watershed planning exist depending on the scale of the project. The report discovered that large watershed projects often had difficulty coordinating local governments and setting water quality goals for the diverse problems that face large geographic areas. Conversely, small watershed projects lacked the scope to address regional problems and sometimes worsened conditions in other areas. The report recommends a solution to this paradox by planning on both scales. Large scale or basin-wide planning is needed to establish regional goals and objectives and small units are needed at the implementation phase (Adler, 1995).

The LGRW project is using this approach to design and implement the WMP. At the large scale, the project has produced a mission statement and vision. Goals and objectives are broad and encompass the needs of the diverse stakeholder groups. Implementation of the WMP is expected on the subwatershed level, by those closest to the problem. Small watershed projects that result from this project will be able to use the tools and information in this WMP to design and implement cost-effective solutions to local water quality problems.

]]> Fishbeck, Thompson, Car & Huber, Inc. Buck Creek Watershed Management Plan http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/wmpr/5 http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/wmpr/5 Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:41:03 PST The water quality goals are based on improving or restoring the designated uses of the Watershed and attaining compliance with the E. coli TMDL established in Buck Creek. The following long-term goals for the Watershed have been determined:

● Improve or restore the coldwater and coolwater fisheries
● Improve and protect the safety and enjoyment of fishing, canoeing, and swimming
● Improve or restore the warmwater fishery
● Improve and protect the habitats for other indigenous aquatic life and wildlife
The short-term objectives to reduce sediment in the Watershed are:

● Stabilize stream flows to moderate hydrology and increase base flow
● Protect riparian buffers through setbacks and buffer ordinances
● Adopt storm water ordinance
● Reduce soil erosion and sedimentation from construction sites
● Encourage cover crops and no-till practices
● Install livestock exclusion fencing and filter strips
● Stabilize improperly installed stream crossings
● Reduce impervious surfaces

]]> Annis Water Resources Institute Muskegon River Transition / Implementation Final Report http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/wmpr/4 http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/wmpr/4 Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:29:08 PST The Muskegon River Watershed Assembly (MRWA) in partnership with the Annis Water Resources Institute of Grand Valley State University (AWRI) was awarded funds for the Muskegon River Transition/Implementation 1 project (# 2003-0032). The grant period began on September 27, 2004 and was extended nine months until June 30th, 2007. The goals of this project were to update the Muskegon River Watershed Management Plan to meet the EPA’s newest requirements and reduce the negative impact that thermal pollution, excessive nutrients, and sediment have on the cold and warm water fisheries, as well as for other indigenous aquatic organisms of the Muskegon River and its tributaries. These project goals were met by incorporating six of nine EPA criteria (three were already included), by conducting a hydrologic study in the headwaters of the Tamarack Creek Subwatershed, establishing permanent conservation easements on vegetative filter strips in the Tamarack Creek Subwatershed, and constructing a rain garden at the Village of McBain K-12 School. All of these management practices targeted thermal pollution and the input of nutrients and sediment in the watershed. By addressing the pollutants that threaten the water quality of the Muskegon River Watershed, all designated uses will be maintained. The environmental benefits of the project were to help maintain a healthy aquatic system for aquatic organisms, fisheries, water supply, agriculture, and recreation.

]]> Muskegon River Watershed Assembly at Ferris State University et al. Rogue River Watershed Project / Rogue River Watershed Management Plan http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/wmpr/3 http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/wmpr/3 Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:22:35 PST The Rogue River is located in west central lower Michigan and is a major tributary of the Grand River. The Rogue River Watershed refers to all the land that is drained by the Rogue River. This area is 167,625 acres and includes portions of Kent, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, and Ottawa counties. The City of Rockford and Cedar Springs, and the villages of Sparta, Kent City, Sand Lake, and Casnovia are within the Rogue River Watershed boundaries. The Rogue River is fed by wetlands, county drains, lakes, and both warm and cool-cold water tributaries. The cool-cold water tributaries help to sustain trout and other cool-cold water species in the southern section of the Rogue River. The land use in the southern section of the watershed is urban and rural areas with pastureland, upland crops, and forestland. Muckland crops dominate the northern part of the watershed. Changes in land use from rural to urban have created concern for the Rogue River Watershed. This concern was addressed January 1, 1999 with the partnership between Grand Valley Metro Council and the Annis Water Resources Institute to create a watershed management plan for the Rogue River Watershed.

]]> Annis Water Resources Institute Sand Creek Watershed Project / Sand Creek Watershed Management Plan http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/wmpr/2 http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/wmpr/2 Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:10:16 PST The overall goal of the Sand Creek Watershed Project is to improve and protect the designated uses of the watershed. In order to achieve this overall goal and attain compliance with the TMDL established in Sand Creek, four goals have been established and prioritized. The primary goal of the Sand Creek Watershed Project is to restore or improve the cold water fishery. The secondary goal of the project is to protect and improve the habitats of native aquatic life and wildlife. Both goals can be achieved by reducing the amount of known pollutants affecting both of these uses. Pollutant reduction can be achieved through proper storm water management that would also serve to address harmful changes in the stream’s flow regime. The third goal of the project is to improve and protect partial body contact recreational uses, such as wading and fishing, by reducing pathogen concentrations, hydrocarbons, toxic substances, and trash. These four known and suspected pollutants also affect total body contact recreation uses, such as swimming. The fourth goal of the Sand Creek Watershed Project is to improve and protect total body contact. Structural and vegetative BMPs, policy and management BMPs, and Information and Education (I&E) activities will be needed to reduce known pollutants affecting these impaired and threatened uses.

]]> Annis Water Research Institute On-Site Sewage Disposal Systems & Septage Management for Individual Homes and Small Communities http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/wmpr/1 http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/wmpr/1 Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:02:51 PST The purpose of this paper is two-fold:

To identify alternatives and/or improvements to conventional septic systems for residential sewage collection and treatment for small communities and residential developments.

To research existing ordinances that require on-going management of residential and community septic systems, disposal of septage, and develop a model septic system and septage management ordinance that can apply to Kent County communities.

It is hoped that this study’s recommendations will be adopted in Kent County. Eventually, Kent County’s model program can be used to effect statewide implementation of responsible environmental policies that will improve our environment and public health. The desired outcomes of better management approaches are the protection of human health and welfare, and protection of water resources from disease-causing bacteria, nitrates in groundwater, and high nutrient and pollutant levels.

]]> James R. Hegarty