This year, the One Water collection of educational graphics incorporates the river otter, which has been spotted in the Detroit River after years of absence. The health of species such as the lake sturgeon and the river otter in our aquatic habitats is an encouraging sign that the decades of efforts to revive Southeast Michigan’s waterways are making an impact.
Great Lakes and Fresh Water Week, an opportunity to reflect on the immense value and responsibility of living at the heart of the earth’s largest surface freshwater system, kicks off on June 4. The health of our region’s water resources and quality of life are supported by infrastructure that includes drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater. Every day, we rely on “Water Champions” across our region, to keep our water fresh and flowing.
Local communities, counties, and the Great Lakes Water Authority all have roles in managing water infrastructure and protecting public health. Whether it is treating drinking water, managing the drinking water distribution system, collecting wastewater, treating wastewater and/or managing stormwater runoff, public works staff and water operators are the region’s front line Water Champions. Watershed councils engage the public in stewardship opportunities and help monitor the quality of our lakes, rivers, and streams. Academic researchers study our water systems to understand and solve many of the challenges we face. Road agencies ensure that stormwater from the transportation system is managed, so residents can move across Southeast Michigan safely.
Most importantly, residents throughout our region’s watersheds take small actions in their daily lives to ensure the sustainability of our water infrastructure systems. The combined and collaborative efforts among these diverse groups of water champions is key for sustaining Southeast Michigan’s fresh water resources.
The Challenges We Face
While our region is greatly connected to and by our water resources, several challenges have emerged in the past few years, including aging infrastructure, flooding, and lack of funding. Extreme weather events across the region have brought large amounts of stormwater runoff that our infrastructure systems are not designed to handle. As a result, we saw flooding along roadways and on private property.
Infrastructure providers continue their efforts to innovated and right-size systems to fit the region’s changing needs. A few of Southeast Michigan’s prominent water experts help to explain the challenges we face and how we can respond to them. View Separate System video here.
Our Water Workforce
Our water infrastructure operates continuously. Drinking water comes into and wastewater leaves our homes and businesses through a vast system of pipes and pumps that are underground and out of site. Yet we rarely consider the importance of the people who help facilitate the movement of water across our region. Local communities, county water resource commissioners, water authorities, their public works staff and operators work around the clock to operate and maintain our drinking water and wastewater systems.
While the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) works with its member partners throughout the region to provide nearly 40 percent of Michigan’s population with clean drinking water, there are over 100 drinking water treatment facilities in the region. GLWA also operates the largest single-site water resource recovery facility in North America providing wastewater treatment to 30-percent of the state’s population. Our region has close to 60 wastewater treatment facilities.
Water resource commissioners are also responsible for managing and overseeing county drains and stormwater management within their respective county jurisdictions. These commissioners and their staff work to protect Michigan’s water resources by maintaining county drains, implementing stormwater best management practices, working collaboratively with local communities, and providing stormwater management guidance to the public and other partners.
SEMCOG is currently working with many of these partners through our Water Infrastructure Task Force. This group is focused on identifying the short- and long-term actions needed to achieve shared outcomes for sustainable water infrastructure systems in Southeast Michigan. Sustainable water infrastructure systems will serve the public in a cost-effective manner that achieves greater public health and environmental benefits.
Watershed Councils
Southeast Michigan’s watershed councils – such as the Clinton River Watershed Council (CRWC), Friends of the Rouge, Friends of the St. Clair River, and the Huron River Watershed Council (HRWC) – work to improve overall water quality and offer many volunteer opportunities. The CRWC allows the opportunity to participate in a Weekly Clean-Up of the Clinton River. Weekly Clean occurs every Wednesday from April-November. The locations are posted online in advance and are open to individuals of all ages and skill levels. Friends of the Rouge also has many volunteer opportunities, such as floodplain tree planting, pollinator garden planting, volunteer monitoring through frog and toad surveys and macroinvertebrate sampling, and invasive species removals. Friends of the St. Clair River also offer various volunteer opportunities, along with the HRWC. HRWC offers volunteer opportunities such as collecting macroinvertebrates to determine the health of the river, field assessments, as well as river clean-ups.
University Researchers
Research conducted by local universities helps to provide insight as well as tools to address water quality challenges in the region. Wayne State’s Healthy Urban Waters is a collaboration of WSU researchers and the local community to focus on water in an urban setting and future impacts of human culture on community, ecosystem, and economic health.
The University of Michigan’s Real-Time Water Systems Lab, with assistance from GLWA, launched a project in 2017 in order to investigate the application of real-time sensing and dynamic control on existing infrastructure for more cost-effective solutions. to reducing flooding, improving water quality, and discovering adaptive, real-time approaches to flooding forecasting.
Transportation Agencies
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) maintains over 10,000 miles of roads, but did you know they also maintain a vast amount of stormwater drainage systems in Michigan?
Since last year, MDOT has updated their stormwater management program enhance practices that reduce stormwater runoff and pollution. MDOT also works with local agencies to identify stormwater best management practices for new road projects. Beyond MDOT, county road agencies and commissions also manage the stormwater infrastructure network.
Water Citizens
We all have a role to play in protecting and enhancing water quality. There are numerous actions that individuals can take for the stormwater system in and around their own properties:
- Remove garbage, leaves, and other debris to prevent these things from entering the storm drain
- Pick up pet waste and dispose of it in the trash
- Time the fertilization of your lawn to avoid storm events immediately after application
- Reduce the amount of chemicals (pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers) applied to your lawn
- Install a rain garden and/or plant a tree
There are also a number of good habits to keep inside the home:
- Flushing or rinsing ONLY what should go down the drain (the three Ps: poop, pee, and (toilet) paper
- Pour fats, oils, and greases (FOG) into covered containers and cans, and dispose of them in the trash
- Wipe down pots and pans with a paper towel to remove any remaining FOG before washing them
- Scrape food and scraps into the trash when possible
- Avoid flushing medications down the toilet or drain when another safe option is available, such as disposing them at your local pharmacy.
- Understand the age and condition of your home’s water infrastructure to determine actions to keep your infrastructure in good condition
- Learn where your water comes from and the service provider that brings water to your home
While there are myriad challenges facing our region, there are many ways that individuals can make a difference. We are all Water Champions if we choose to be, and we all play a role in maintaining our water quality. You can find which watershed you live in and get to know the different people/organizations that help maintain water quality. By doing so, you create a more personal connection to the water that you use every day, while learning how to maintain water quality.
Happy Great Lakes and Freshwater Week!
More information is available on Southeast Michigan’s One Water website, including a schedule of wonderful events to celebrate our water resources. Register now to attend our “Water: We are the Champions Webinar” on June 4, 2022.
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