Looking Glass River Watershed Management Plan - Greater ...

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Altered Hydrology Stream flows vary in characteristic ways over time frames ranging from hours and days to seasons and years. The flow regime includes such factors as the magnitude and frequency of floods and low flow periods, the seasonal occurrence of various flow rates, and the rates of change of flow. The flow regime of a stream reflects the operation of the hydrologic cycle within its watershed. Climate, topography, geology, soils, vegetation, watershed size and shape, stream pattern, land use, water use, and dams all impact the timing and pathways of water movement to and through stream and hence the stream’s flow regime. Altered hydrology is not a pollutant in the terms of heavy metals or pesticides, but does affect biota and stability of streams and rivers. Changes in hydrology typically increase the volume, frequency, and peak discharges of the stream. These changes may cause streambank erosion, sedimentation, and poor conditions for plants, fish and macroinvertebrates. In addition the surface runoff from precipitation collects and transports various pollutants to the receiving waters thus not only affecting the flow characteristics in the receiving water but also the pollutant concentrations. Sources Hydrology changes in receiving water courses are due to a loss of infiltration into the soil, a loss of evaporation, loss of storage or increased flow channelization. These occurrences are typical of development regardless of the new land use. For example in urban areas loss of infiltration, storage and evaporation result as impervious surfaces are created and the soil is compacted due to construction operations. Refer to the discussion on the relevance of impervious cover in Section 3 for additional information. Another key cause of changes in hydrology is the loss of storage such as wetlands and floodplains. Wetlands are discussed in Section 2 and show that the majority of the existing wetlands are located in the eastern half of the watershed which is generally the less developed areas. The future land use discussion, also in Section 2, indicates that significant growth is expected in this same eastern half of the watershed potentially threatening the existing wetlands and potentially exasperating the future hydrology concerns. Table 5-3 summarizes various sources of changes to the hydrology. The sources and causes were ranked by reviewing all of the collected data (Section 2 and 3) and combining it with the knowledge of staff from the local communities. 5-8 Looking Glass River Watershed April 2007
Table 5-3 Altered Hydrology Sources and Causes Sources Priority Cause (k=known, s=suspected) Priority Loss of Infiltration (k) 1 Loss of Natural Areas (k) 1 Impervious Surfaces (k) 2 Development with Poor Storm Water Planning (s) 3 Lack of Buffer (s) 4 Compacted Soils (s) 5 Turf Grass (s) 6 Loss of Storage (k) 2 Loss of Wetlands (k) 1 Loss of Low Areas Acceptable for Flooding (k) 2 Development with Poor Storm Water Planning (s) 3 Loss of Floodplain (k) 4 Increased Channelization (k) 3 Development with Poor Storm Water Planning (s) 1 Lack of Buffer (k) 2 Impervious Surfaces (k) 3 Additional Drainage Systems (s) 4 More Hydraulically Efficient Drainage Systems (s) 5 Impact and Impairment The typical changes in hydrology due to development in the surrounding water include an increase in the flashiness of the watercourse, an increased peak flow, a reduction in the base flow due to loss of interflow and groundwater flow through the soil, and an increase in the total volume of water transported. A decrease of water is also possible if significant water withdrawals are occurring, however this is not the case in this watershed. Increases in peak flow rates may literally wash benthic macroinvertebrates, fish, amphibians and vegetation downstream if the peak velocities and shear forces are great enough. With the increased flow rates and occurrence comes an increase in the erosion potential within the watershed. The impacts and impairment of this are discussed under sediment as a stressor. The increased runoff from developed areas also has the potential to carry with it pollutants that would not otherwise enter the watercourse. For example in a residential development fertilizers may be carried by rainwater through the engineered stormwater conveyance system and be discharged to a river. Hence if the increased runoff were controlled not only would the stream experience less impact due to changes in hydrology but would also not receive the fertilizer applied to the yard, in the above example. A good discussion of the impacts of altered hydrology may be found in “Hydrologic Impacts Due to Development: The Need for Adequate Runoff Detention and Stream Protection” by the MDEQ May 2002. The loss of wetlands and connected floodplains in the watershed results in the same hydrologic changes as discussed above. In addition the loss storage areas help prevent the movement of sediment, filter pollutants, provide habitat and support a wide diversity of plants and animals. Indicators Many different indicators may be used for altered hydrology. The most obvious indicator is that of the flow profile itself monitored throughout the Section 5: Stressor Summary 5-9
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GLRC on Phase II Looking Glass Rive
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Table of Contents Organization of t
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SECTION 10 - Plan Sustainability In
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FIGURES Figure 1-1 Watershed Locati
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Organization of the Plan This plan
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9. Evaluation and Revision Section
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The goals and objectives were then
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Looking Glass Watershed The Looking
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• methods for evaluation of progr
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References Center for Watershed Pro
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Page 32 and 33: The majority of wetlands in the wat
Page 34 and 35: commonly classified as hydrologic s
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Page 38 and 39: Significant Natural Features to be
Page 40 and 41: References Centers for Disease Cont
Page 42 and 43: 3. Water Quality Conditions People
Page 44 and 45: sanitary sewer treatment system has
Page 46 and 47: Section 3: Water Quality Conditions
Page 48 and 49: Data Analysis Tetra Tech summarized
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Page 54 and 55: Table 3-4 explains the problems fou
Page 56 and 57: Vermillion Creek Assessment Vermill
Page 58 and 59: Volunteers identify the species bas
Page 60 and 61: Watershed Fish Consumption The Mich
Page 62 and 63: The coldwater fishery use does not
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Page 66 and 67: Interpretation of Watershed Conditi
Page 68 and 69: 4. Community Outreach A watershed p
Page 70 and 71: Public Comment on Draft Plan A draf
Page 72 and 73: Public Education Plan Public educat
Page 74 and 75: determining goals and desires for t
Page 76 and 77: Table 5-1 Status of Designated Uses
Page 78 and 79: Sources The main sources of sedimen
Page 80 and 81: the time for the specified month. (
Page 84 and 85: day as it is at a USGS gauging stat
Page 86 and 87: Figure 5-2 R-B Index at Eagle (USGS
Page 88 and 89: It should also be noted that the su
Page 90 and 91: Detergents are becoming a serious t
Page 92 and 93: Physical Pollutants Physical pollut
Page 94 and 95: Oil and grease are often referred t
Page 96 and 97: Table 5-14 Pesticide: Sources and C
Page 98 and 99: Introduction 6. Goals and Objective
Page 100 and 101: equirements, some objectives go bey
Page 102 and 103: Goal 3: Encourage Water Quality Fri
Page 104 and 105: general health of wetlands, primary
Page 106 and 107: References DAS Manufacturing. “Cu
Page 108 and 109: Several programs are available loca
Page 110 and 111: Better Site Design Better site desi
Page 112 and 113: Non-Storm Water Discharges Non-stor
Page 114 and 115: producers to meet personal objectiv
Page 116 and 117: Michigan Turfgrass Environmental St
Page 118 and 119: 8. Action Plan Source: Basetree, 20
Page 120 and 121: Table 8-1 Benefits of Goals No Goal
Page 122 and 123: 9. Evaluation Mechanisms “Not eve
Page 124 and 125: Evaluation Mechanisms Level One - A
Page 126 and 127: Program Implementation Program impl
Page 128 and 129: The MDEQ/MDNR have conducted analyt
Page 130 and 131: Assessing the evaluation mechanisms
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Goal 3: Encourage Water Quality Fri
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Goal 6: Protect and Increase Wetlan
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Evaluation Action Plan At the end o
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Evaluation Mechanisms Municipal Sta
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The committee defined appropriate w
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“It is the purpose of this Memora
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each other about how to protect and
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A-2 Looking Glass River Watershed A
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B-2 Looking Glass River Watershed A
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C-2 Looking Glass River Watershed A
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D-2 Looking Glass River Watershed A
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Appendix E Road Stream Surveys Appe
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Appendix F Vermillion Creek Corresp
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