Water Protection Activities in Washtenaw County

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When there are problems identified with water quality that could pose a public health threat, measures are taken to properly inform the public. For instance, when fish are found to have levels of contaminants higher than levels deemed safe by the Michigan Department of Community Health, a fish advisory is issued. Similarly, if contaminant levels in water are higher than the designated level for recreational use beach monitoring may result in beach closing or prohibition of full body contact sports like swimming. Currently, there are 20 Washtenaw County waterways and segments of waterways that have been specifically identified as not meeting the minimum state Water Quality Standards (WQS) associated with designated uses (Table 3). Many of the problems result from storm water runoff, including high Escherichia coli (E. coli) levels from illicit connections of sanitary waste to storm waste, and from pets waste and urban wildlife; phosphorus from erosion and lawn fertilizer; heavy metals, oil and grease, and mercury deposition from airborne particles. All of these contaminants are washed into waterways from our increasingly paved environment. Of equal concern are increasing flood frequencies and flashy stream flows that threaten downstream property and degrade habitat, leading to reduced aquatic and wildlife diversity. More detail regarding water quality measurements can be found at: HRWC Adopt-a-Stream http://www.hrwc.org HRWC Sampling http://www.hrwc.org Stony Creek http://www.emich.edu/wrc/stonycreek Raisin River http://www.riverraisin.org Rouge River http://www.therouge.org Ann Arbor Drinking Water Plant http://www.a2gov.org DEQ NPDES http://www.michigan.gov/deqnpdes USGS Real-Time Gauges http://water.usgs.gov 32 There are two kinds of monitoring criteria evaluated to determine if a water body is meeting the Water Quality Standards: Biological and Numeric. ● Biological Criteria – the biological health of a water body in comparison to a reference site. Looking at the species diversity and the presence of sensitive species like mayflies, stoneflies, and dobson flies or hellgrammites, indicates the overall biological health. These criteria can be used to rate streams qualitatively into categories like excellent, good, acceptable, or poor. ● Numeric Criteria – the level of pollutants in comparison to set standards. Chemical pollutants, like arsenic, mercury, phosphorus, or pathogens (E. coli) all have maximum contaminant levels that are associated with each designated use. The EPA recommends standards for designated uses and publishes this information for each state. 2 Since it is not feasible to collect numeric data for every body of water, biological sampling can be used to indicate areas that need further study. 2 See: http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/criteria/wqcriteria.html
Table 3: Total Maximum Daily Load Schedule WATER BODY TMDL SCHEDULE TMDL APPROVED LOCATION SIZE PROBLEM Allen Creek 2004 Included in Huron River Geddes Pond Dam upstream to Geddes Avenue 2 Miles WQS exceedances of E. coli., pathogens (Rule100) Barton Pond (Huron River) 2010 no Impoundment of Huron River in vicinity of Barton 210 Acre FCA-PCBs Ford Lake 2003 Nov 2004 Ypsilanti, upstream of Belleville Lake 975 Acre 2 Miles Nuisance algal growths, phosphorus Ford/Belleville Lake 2010 no Impoundments of the Huron River located in the vicinity of Ypsilanti 2245 Acre FCA-PCBs, Mercury Four Mile Lake 2011 no West of Dexter and NE of Chelsea 256 Acre Fish Tissue-Mercury Honey Creek 2009 no Confluence of Huron River at Wagner Rd 0.5 Miles Pathogens (Rule 100) Horseshoe Lake Drain 2009 no Barker Road at the Horseshoe Lake outlet. 1.4 Miles Macroinvertebrate community rated poor Huron River (Geddes Pond) 2000 Sept 2001 Geddes Pond Dam upstream to Geddes Avenue From the confluence with the Walled 2 Miles Pathogens (Rule 100) Johnson Creek 2007 Aug 2007 lake branch upstream to 5 Mile rd. West of Currie Rd. 7 Miles WQS exceedances for D.O. Letts Creek 2004 REMOVED Fish and macroinvertebrate communities rated poor Malletts Creek 2004 Sept 2004 Huron River confluence at Packard Road 2 Miles Fish and macroinvertebrate communities rated poor Paint Creek 2005 no R6E, T3S, Sec. 12 at Ypsilanti 4.6 Miles D.O.; Fish kills; Pathogens (Rule 100) Portage Lake 2011 no SE of Pinckney 644 Acre Mercury Lake Saline River 2000 Nov 2002 Near Mooreville, Section 28, York Township 1 Miles Untreated sewage discharge, pathogens (Rule 100) Second Sister Lake 2011 no W. of Ann Arbor 8 Acre Fish Tissue-Mercury South Lake 2011 no N. of Lyndon Center 197 Acre Fish Tissue-Mercury Swift Run Creek 2004 Jan 2005 Huron River confluence at Ellsworth Road. 3.7 Miles Macroinvertebrate community rated poor Unnamed Lake 2011 no S. of Ford Lake in the NE corner of Sec. 26, T3S, 2 Acre FCA-PCBs; Fish Tissue-Mercury Whitmore Lake 2010 no Vicinity of Whitmore Lake 677 Acre FCA-PCBs Willow Run Creek 2000 REMOVED WQS exceedances for PCBs 33
Page 1 and 2: Water Protection Activities in Wash
Page 3 and 4: Acknowledgements Water Protection A
Page 5 and 6: Executive Summary Introduction The
Page 7 and 8: Local Water Quality Information The
Page 9 and 10: TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Page # Se
Page 11 and 12: MAPS, FIGURES, AND TABLES Map # Tit
Page 13 and 14: 1.0 Introduction Background In Sept
Page 15 and 16: 2.0 Groundwater Groundwater is a vi
Page 17 and 18: 2.1 Conditions and Trends The prima
Page 19 and 20: 2.2 Groundwater Protection Activiti
Page 21 and 22: Activity #5 Wellhead Protection Cle
Page 23 and 24: Activity #8 Groundwater Withdrawal
Page 25 and 26: 2.3 Groundwater Challenges and Resp
Page 27 and 28: Map 5: Groundwater Arsenic Distribu
Page 29 and 30: Map 6: Groundwater Nitrate Distribu
Page 31 and 32: Challenge # 4: Part 201 Sites Part
Page 33 and 34: Challenge # 5: Landfills The rules
Page 35 and 36: Challenge # 6: Leaking Underground
Page 37 and 38: Gelman Sciences Inc. 1,4-dioxane Re
Page 39 and 40: 2.4 Groundwater Organizations Leade
Page 41 and 42: 3.0 Surface Water Surface water is
Page 43: Table 2: Michigan’s Designated Us
Page 47 and 48: ● CWA Section 319 Grants - Sectio
Page 49 and 50: Activity #12 Michigan Drain Code Mo
Page 51 and 52: Activity #13 Inland Lake Level Act
Page 53 and 54: Table 4: BMP Examples (Continued) P
Page 55 and 56: Public Beaches Tested in Washtenaw
Page 57 and 58: 3.3 Challenges and Responses Surfac
Page 59 and 60: The Rules of the Washtenaw County D
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Page 63 and 64: The Community Partners for Clean St
Page 65 and 66: Most, if not all, of the local unit
Page 67 and 68: Watershed Management Plans outline
Page 69 and 70: Challenge # 15 Point Source Dischar
Page 71 and 72: Challenge # 16 Community Wastewater
Page 73 and 74: ● Home Toxics Reduction Program
Page 75 and 76: 3.5 Local Tools There are many ordi
Page 77 and 78: APPENDIX A: Local Unit of Governmen
Page 79 and 80: NPDES Poi int Source Disccharge Per
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Page 83 and 84: CCR Table continued 71
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Page 90: A4: Dexter Township As determined f
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A6: Lima Township Obtaining adequat
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A8: Lyndon Township The geology of
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A10: Northfield Township Aquifers y
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A12: Salem Township Dry holes have
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APPENDIX B: Watershed Plans and Bes
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B2 - Plan 2: Huron Chain of Lakes W
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B3 Map: 133 B4 Map:
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B5 - Plan 5: Middle One Rouge River
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B6 - Plan 6: Lower One Rouge River
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B8 - Plan 8: Stony Creek Watershed
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B9: Comprehensive Best Management P
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Watershed Plan BMP Title BMP Descri
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APPENDIX C: Acronyms and Abbreviati
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printed on recycled paper July 2008
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Water Protection Activities in Washtenaw County

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