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Looking Glass River Watershed Management Plan - Greater ...

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Non-Storm Water Discharges<br />

Non-storm water discharges include discharges from septic systems, sanitary<br />

sewers, and others, such as industrial NPDES discharges and manure runoff<br />

to name a few. This tool is used to evaluate the need for septic system<br />

inspections, failing septic system repairs, ordinance changes, spill<br />

prevention, and identifying and removing illicit connections.<br />

<strong>Watershed</strong> management planning being conducted through the Michigan<br />

watershed permit program are already developing and implementing an<br />

illicit discharge elimination plan, or IDEP, which is examining the storm<br />

sewer systems and other waterways for illicit discharges and connections.<br />

This watershed management plan is also examining current septic system<br />

issues and will make recommendations for future improvement in local<br />

planning, installation and maintenance operations. This is discussed earlier<br />

in Section 3.<br />

<strong>Watershed</strong> Stewardship Programs<br />

<strong>Watershed</strong> stewardship is the community investment of time and resources<br />

to promote public understanding and awareness of watershed issues. A<br />

number of programs are available to consider when selecting a method to<br />

promote watershed stewardship including:<br />

• <strong>Watershed</strong> Advocacy<br />

• <strong>Watershed</strong> Education<br />

• Pollution Prevention<br />

• <strong>Watershed</strong> Maintenance<br />

• Indicator Monitoring<br />

• Restoration<br />

These programs provide different ways to promote watershed stewardship,<br />

depending on the number, education level, and watershed education level of<br />

the community members. One or more of these programs may be used as<br />

tools in implementing a watershed management plan.<br />

There are many programs that promote watershed, including the following.<br />

The Michigan Department of Agriculture<br />

Information on the following programs can be obtained through the MDA’s<br />

website at http://www.michigan.gov/mda/.<br />

The Michigan Groundwater Stewardship Program<br />

The goal of the Michigan Groundwater Stewardship Program (MGSP) is to<br />

provide information and assessment tools for pesticide and nitrogen<br />

fertilizer users which help them identify risks to groundwater associated<br />

with their pesticide and nitrogen fertilizer use practices and to coordinate<br />

local, state, and federal resources to help individuals reduce those risks. The<br />

MGSP is designed to be voluntary, to be locally driven, to address the<br />

concerns of individuals, and to maintain a focus on the financial and<br />

technical constraints which drive real-world decisions.<br />

7-6 <strong>Looking</strong> <strong>Glass</strong> <strong>River</strong> <strong>Watershed</strong> April 2007

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