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3 S.S. LAPOINTE DRAIN HISTORY AND CHARACTERISTICS The S.S. Lapointe Drain is part of the Ottawa-Stony River watershed and is located in Erie Township,

Monroe County. The SSLD (AUID: 041000010202-01/02) (Figure 3) watershed lies entirely in the Huron-

Erie Lake Plains ecoregion (Omerink and Gallant, 1988). The S.S. Lapointe Drain feeds directly into

western Lake Erie and contributes to the phosphorus and algae problems that plague the Western Lake

Erie Basin. The S.S. Lapointe Drain Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) (Appendix A) reach (Figure 4) is a

maintained and dredged, straight-cut drain with a drainage area of approximately 18.4 square miles

starting at the mouth of Lake Erie and ending 2,200 feet upstream of the mouth of Lake Erie.

Summer season 50 percent and 95 percent exceedance flows for S.S. Lapointe Drain near its mouth are

0.2 cfs and 0 cfs, respectively, as computed by MDEQ from United States Geological Service (USGS)

survey gage data at Plum Brook near Utica, Michigan (Schmitt and Sunday 2007).

Section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) and the United States Environmental Protection

Agency’s (USEPA’s) Water Quality Planning and Management Regulations (Title 40 of the Code of

Federal Regulations, Part 130) requires states to develop Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for water

bodies that are not meeting water quality standards (WQS). The TMDL process gives states a basis for

establishing the reductions of pollutants necessary from both point and nonpoint sources (NPS) in order

to restore and maintain water quality. The goal of the S.S. Lapointe TMDL was to identify the sources of

dissolved oxygen (DO) and nutrient standard nonattainment in the S.S. Lapointe Drain near Luna Pier

and to subsequently quantify the necessary reductions in these sources to attain the WQS. S.S. Lapointe

Drain and its tributaries in the vicinity of Luna Pier are designated as warm water streams with a DO

standard of 5 milligrams per liter(mg/l) as a minimum. S.S. Lapointe Drain and its tributaries are also

protected against nuisance algal growths because they either are, or may become, injurious to the

designated uses of the surface waters of the state. The designated use impairments in S.S. Lapointe

Drain are warm water fishery and other indigenous aquatic life and wildlife. The S.S. Lapointe Drain

appears on the nonattainment list due to not meeting the water quality standards with respect to

dissolved oxygen, nuisance algal growths and phosphorus. Phosphorous is tied to sedimentation which

also contributes to the impairment of the watershed.

Lake Erie Luna Pier Beach (AUID: 041000010202-01), (Refer to Figure 3) also located in Ottawa-Stony

Watershed and Otter Creek- Frontal Lake Erie subwatershed, was placed on the nonattainment list due

to impairment of recreational uses (total and partial body contact) as indicated by the presence of

elevated levels of E.coli. Monitoring data collected by the MDEQ in 2005 documented exceedances of

the water quality standards (WQS) for E.coli at all sampling locations (refer to Figure 1 of Appendix B)

during the total body contact recreational season of May 1 through October 31. The purpose of this

TMDL is to identify the allowable levels of E.coli that will result in attaining the applicable WQS at Luna

Pier Beach. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) collected monitoring data in

2005 documenting exceedances of the E.coli WQS at all sampling locations during the total body contact

recreational season of May 1 through October 31.

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Figure 3 S.S. Lapointe Drain Assignment Unit Identification Map

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Figure 4 S.S. Lapointe Drain Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Reach

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Sources of E.coli to Lake Erie Luna Pier Beach fall into two categories: local sources within the immediate

watershed and remote sources carried to the TMDL reach by the currents of the western basin of Lake

Erie. Seven potential point sources of E.coli in the local watershed of the Lake Erie Luna Pier Beach

existed when the TMDL (Appendix B) was established in May 2007: CECO – JR Whiting Power Plant,

Mason Consolidated School Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), Toledo Beach Marina – LaSalle,

Interstate Truck Parts & Equipment, Waterford Condominium Development, LaSalle Mobile Home Park

and Luna Pier WWTP.

As of January 2017, there are four point sources which are listed in Table 1 and illustrated in Figure 5.

The CECO - JR Whiting Power Plant closed in 2016. The LaSalle Mobile Home Park and the Waterford

Condominium Development were never constructed. The Luna Pier WWTP was upgraded in 2014.

Looking at the last full year (2015) of discharge data, the plant is very close to meeting its original TMDL

removal targets (See Table 1).

Table 1 Point Sources in S.S. Lapointe Drain Watershed

Point Source Permit Effective dates Comments

Luna Pier WWTP NPDES

#MI0058821

Effective 01/10/20111; Expired

10/01/2015;

Permit extended for now with

no expiration date

Last inspection: 05/07/2014; Service

area: City of Luna Pier (minus

Consumers Energy property) and the

North Shores subdivision of LaSalle

Twp.

Luna Pier WWTP Individual

#MI005882

01/10/2011 – 10/1/2015

Extended Last inspection 12/10/2015

Luna Pier WWTP

Industrial Stormwater

No exposure Certificate

(NEC) 176594

03/1/2011 – 03/1/2016

Expired

CECO – JR Whiting

Plant

Individual Permit

#MI0001864 04/1/2016 – 10/1/2019 Plant is closing in 2016

Mason Consolidated

Schools WWTP

Individual Permit

# MI004720

04/1/2012 – 10/1/2016

Extended Last inspection 05/7/2014

Toledo Beach

Marina - LaSalle

General Permit Certificate

of Coverage

#MIG760001

06/10/2-15 – 04/1/2020

Toledo Beach

Marina - LaSalle MIS 210101 10/4/2012 – 04/01/2017

Toledo Beach

Marina - LaSalle Minor Project

11/09/2000 – 12/31/2001

Expired

Interstate Truck

Parts & Equipment

General Permit Certificate

of Coverage

MIS 210989

10/04/2012 – 04/01/2017 Last Inspection

08/04/2016

Express Fuel Center

4180 Luna Pier Road

2006 Evaluation

New violation identified- sheen

observed on Lake Erie

Prevent fuels discharge to water

Lost Peninsula

Marina No longer has a permit

Revised 1/22/2018 13

Figure 5 Location of water bodies, municipalities, and point sources within the lakeshore drainage watershed surrounding Luna Pier Beach Note: Red X indicates closure of CECO and developments not developed.

Another potential source of E.coli contamination is the on-site septic systems that service many homes

in the Luna Pier Beach watershed. The Monroe County Health Department (MCHD) does not maintain

records of septic inspection failure rates so the extent of this contamination is undocumented. Illicit

discharge inspections conducted by the Monroe County Drain Commissioner (MCDC) on Sulphur Creek

resulted in eight potential illicit drain connections. The MCDC provided us

with chain of custody records for 5 different samples in Sulphur taken in

the early 2000's as well as pictures of two additional documented

potential illicit connections and a copy of a letter sent to the MCHD

around that same time requesting that they investigate another potential

illicit connection (Figure 6). Neither the MCDC nor the MCHD was able to

provide information regarding the outcome of these inspections. Further

investigation on Sulphur Creek is recommended as part of the SSLD WMP.

During the stream walk on Muddy Creek a potential illicit connection was

observed and photographed, noting longitude and latitude.

Other potential sources of E.coli include wildlife, primarily birds, which

may be attracted by the accumulated zebra mussel shells in the swash zone of Luna Pier Beach. The

remote sources include the permitted sanitary wastewater discharges and combined sewer overflows

(CSOs) from larger urban areas, which include Detroit and Monroe, Michigan and Toledo, Ohio.

Figure 6 Potential illicit drain

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3.1 Lake Erie Hydrology The declining health of Lake Erie has been of concern for the past several decades. Lake Erie is

dramatically impacted by anthropogenic activities due to its shallow depth and small size compared to

the other Laurentian Great Lakes and its population of 11.6 million people who are residents in the

basin. Dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) has been identified as a major cause of rapid decline in

water quality and ecosystem health in the Western Lake Erie Basin.

The same conditions occurred in the 1960’s and 1970’s. A dramatic reduction in phosphorus resulted in

an astonishing recovery during the 1980’s due to the ability to limit phosphorus loading from point

sources such as wastewater treatment facilities. Since the return of the algal blooms in the early 2000’s,

widespread attention has been drawn to issues affecting Lake Erie. Resources have been allocated to

the region to provide education and technical support for on-the-ground initiatives addressing nonpoint

source reductions of phosphorus. Best management practices have been implemented in the WLEB over

the past decade, but not at a level adequate to reach the threshold for recovery. According to the

International Joint Commission (IJC) report, A Balanced Diet for Lake Erie (2014), “addressing runoff

requires strategies tailored to particular land uses, rather than controls on sewage plants alone.”

A more focused effort to reduce loading from a broad scope of non-point source contributors has been

taken in the implementation of watershed management plans for areas that contribute to the WLEB. In

these, land use concerns and alteration of current practices of conventional farming are highlighted as

the highest priority for change. “The basin receives 44% of the TP [total phosphorus] entering the Great

Lakes from agricultural activities.” (IJC A Balanced Diet for Lake Erie 2014). The report suggests that local

and federal agencies should “increase the scale and intensity of agricultural best management practices

programs that have been shown to reduce phosphorus runoff”, make a committed effort to increase the

amount of coastal wetlands by 10% by 2030, and “enact legislation requiring inspection of septic

systems at regular intervals”. These efforts would result in a considerable reduction in nutrient pollution

and an increase in biodiversity within the WLEB and upland areas. Progress is being made in addressing

the problems in the WLEB. A report released in January 2017 included Michigan’s Water Strategy which

is a roadmap for sustainable management of water resources. (Michigan Office of the Great Lakes

Michigan State of the Great Lakes 2016)

• The Governors for the Western Lake Erie Basin States of Michigan and Ohio and the Premier of

the Province of Ontario formed the Western Lake Erie Basin Collaborative Agreement in June,

2015 with goals to reduce phosphorus inputs to the basin by 40 percent. This goal was

reaffirmed as a priority action by Governor Snyder in the recent release of the Michigan Water

Strategy.

• Annex 4 of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between the U.S. and Canada identifies

objectives and joint actions to address nutrient inputs to the Great Lakes.

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has provided grants to continue efforts to invest in

and expand municipal green infrastructure initiatives in Great Lakes shoreline cities.

• The city of Detroit has invested in green infrastructure in the form of rain gardens, permeable

pavement, and constructed wetlands at William G. Milliken State Park to increase stormwater

7/25/2017 15

infiltration and decrease storm water infiltration and decrease combined sewer overflow

events.

• The University of Michigan’s Water Center at the Graham Sustainability Institute has conducted

studies on the Detroit River to better understand and address challenges through science.

• The MDEQ recognized Michigan’s portion of the Western Lake Erie Basin as “impaired,” in

November 2016, highlighting the importance of collaborative action to address the issue.

• NOAA reported 2016 was the most toxic algal bloom in Western Lake Erie since 2002 (Figure 7)

• State leaders shared Michigan’s Draft Domestic Action Plan (DAP) for Lake Erie on June 13, 2017.

Developed by the departments of Agriculture and Rural Development, Environmental Quality,

and Natural Resources, the plan aims to reduce the amount of phosphorous entering Lake Erie

by 40 percent by 2025. The DAP describes current efforts and articulates concrete actions the

state will take to improve Lake Erie. In addition to improving agriculture and waste water best

management practices, the DAP presents additional strategies for wetland restoration, invasive

species research, tougher permit requirements for sewage treatment facilities and customized

farm operations.

Figure 7 Western Lake Erie Bloom Severity 2016

3.2 Luna Pier Luna Pier is a small coastal town along Lake Erie with a population consisting of roughly 1,400 people,

situated just 6 miles from the Michigan/Ohio border at the southeastern border of the S.S. Lapointe

Drain watershed. Historically Luna Pier was known for its coastal location and pristine waterways. In the

1920’s it became a residential destination because the constructed canal system allowed for the

creation of numerous waterfront homes. Since that time it has had a unique influence on the WLEB. The

S.S. Lapointe Drain runs along Luna Pier and empties into Lake Erie at the southeastern edge of town. At

the mouth of the drain there is a marina named Luna Pier Harbor Club and a canal system that empty

into the drain. The Venice Canal system functions as a flood prevention mechanism that directs

stormwater into the canals and then pumps it into the S.S. Lapointe Drain. Residential development

7/25/2017 16

surrounds the canals and marina. A public beach serves as a border between the town and Lake Erie. All

of these factors make the drainage systems in Luna Pier very complex and allow for extensive

recreational use of Lake Erie.

Over the years, development throughout the WLEB has decreased coastal wetlands, limited habitat,

altered the natural hydrology, and increased the rate of pollutant loading from surface runoff. Luna

Pier’s features offer a unique opportunity to restore some of the wetland functionality that has been

lost in this region. The canal system and beach impairments mirror those of the S.S. Lapointe Drain

Watershed. Many of the coastal features of Luna Pier currently provide minimal, degraded wildlife

habitat, but have the potential for complete restoration. The lack of management and maintenance of

waterways such as these has contributed to the water quality issues in the WLEB. Like many other areas

they are in desperate need of attention to return them to high quality wildlife habitat, remove water

quality impairments, and ensure they remain safe for current and future generations.

3.3 Geology and Soils Monroe County lies within a clay plain that gradually slopes toward Lake Erie on the east. The clay plain

covers the bedrock, and the clay is dissected by large glacial drainage areas of sandy soil (See Figure 8).

According to Mozola (1970), “Monroe County owes its general lack of topographic relief to ancient lake

beds.”

Figure 8 Glacial Geology of S.S. Lapointe Drain Watershed

The soils are classified as poor and/or very poor. The S.S. Lapointe Drain Watershed surface geology is

comprised of sand, silt, and clay due to lacustrine deposits. As in most non-urban areas in Monroe

County, the development of an extensive drainage system allowed rural areas to be developed into

cultivated cropland.

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Farmland Classification (Soil Survey)

Figure 9 highlights soils by texture class; however, the figure is somewhat misleading. Table 2 shows in

more detail how the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) defines these soils in the

watershed. The table breaks out the soils by Hydrologic Soil Group (HSG) - A, B, C or D. A soils are well-

drained soils, mostly sand and sandy soils. B soils are fairly well-drained soils - loamy soils. C soils are

somewhat poorly drained - silty soils and D soils are poorly drained - clay and clayey soils. For the

texture classes defined as a primary HSG group and as a D soil, such as an A/D soil, this means that the

soil may be sandy but it is situated in the landscape and in proximity to groundwater that at times, the

soil acts like a D soil; that is, very poorly drained.

When viewed this way, it is clear that this watershed is prone to saturated soil conditions and ponding

simply because the landscape is so low and in close proximity to groundwater and surface water. High

lake levels and rain events, particularly prolonged and frequent rain will make drainage in the watershed

difficult. Because the watershed abuts Lake Erie, the lake level controls minimum groundwater and

surface water elevations.

Figure 9 S.S. Lapointe Drain Watershed Soils Maps (Source: NRCS Electronic Soils Database)

Table 2 Breakdown of S.S. Lapointe Drain Watershed Soil Texture Class (Source: NRCS Electronic Soils Database)

Hydraulic Soil Group by Monitoring Station – [Acres / (% of Monitoring Station Sub-watershed)]

Monitoring Station

A A/D B/D C C/D D Total

STA1 0 / (0%) 4 / (0.4%) 208 / (18.1%) 0 / (0%) 383 / (33.3%) 554 / (48.2%) 1,149 / (11.2%)

STA2 2/ (0.04%) 0 / (0%) 257 / (48.2%) 0 / (0%) 55 / (10.2%) 220 / (41.2%) 533 / (5.2%)

STA3 37 / (7.9%) 55 / (11.6%) 249 / (52.5%) 0 / (0%) 122 / (25.7%) 11 / (2.4%) 476 / (4.6%)

STA4 34 / (5.5%) 142 / (23.4%) 37 / (6.1%) 58 / (9.5%) 254 / (41.8%) 83 / (13.7%) 608 / (5.9%)

STA5 17 / (3.2%) 0 / (0%) 185 / (35.4%) 0 / (0%) 248 / (47.4%) 73 / (14%) 523 / (5.1%)

STA6 0 / (0%) 0 / (0%) 113 / (22.2%) 0 / (0%) 107 (21%) 290 / (56.8%) 511 / (5%)

STA7 0 / (0%) 0 / (0%) 113 / (22.2%) 0 / (0%) 107 / (21%) 290 / (56.8%) 511 / (5%)

STA8 142 / (6.8%) 114 / (5.5%) 222 / (10.7%) 0 / (0%) 1,125 / (54.2%) 473 / (22.8%) 2,076 / (20.3%)

STA9 146 / (10.3%) 226 / (15.9%) 93 / (6.6%) 0 / (0%) 547 / (38.6%) 406 / (28.6%) 1,418 / (13.9%)

STA10 42 / (4.7%) 136 / (15.1%) 67 / (7.5%) 0 / (0%) 303 / (33.7%) 350 / (39%) 898 / (8.8%)

STA11 36 / (5.4%) 12 / (1.8%) 0 / (0%) 0 / (0%) 452 / (67.6%) 169 / (25.3%) 668 / (6.5%)

STA12 45 / (5.2%) 17 / (1.9%) 0 / (0%) 0 / (0%) 712 (82.8%) 87 / (10.1%) 860 / (8.4%)

Total 501 / (4.9%) 705 / (6.9%) 1,545 / (15.1%) 58 / (0.6%) 4,415 / (43.2%) 3,007 / (29.4%) 10,231 / (100%)

7/25/2017 18

3.4 Land Use and Growth Trends Human settlement has dramatically changed land cover in Monroe County. Before European settlement,

the area was forested with lowland and upland forests, as well as grasslands, savannahs, and extensive

marshlands. Wetlands that once covered much of the region have been drained and replaced by

farmland and suburban development. In the past 50 years, much of the agricultural land has been slowly

converted to urban and suburban residential developments and a lot of the agricultural land along

major highway corridors has been converted to commercial development.

Countywide, farmland in Monroe consists of mostly cultivated farmland, but also includes orchards,

livestock, pastures, greenhouses and nurseries. At almost 60% of the total land cover in Monroe County,

agricultural fields and pastures are at the forefront of the non-built landscape. There are over 1,100

farms in the county, which is almost four times more than the state average. Despite the high

proportion of land area dedicated to farming, only 2.8% of the total employed population is farmers.

Refer to Table 20 STEPL Land Use by Watershed for land use in S.S. Lapointe Drain Watershed.

As illustrated in Figure 10, there are a number of potential wetland restoration areas in SSLD. Wetlands

have significant water storage capacity, can improve water quality and provide diverse habitats for fish

and wildlife. Restoring wetland functions would have a positive impact on the beneficial use

impairments (BUIs) in the S.S. Lapointe Drain Watershed.

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Figure 10 S.S. Lapointe Drain Potential Wetland Restoration Areas

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3.5 Climate and Global Warming Implications Based on the most recent models, the climate of Monroe County and southeast Michigan will continue

to warm, with greater increases in temperature during the winter months and at night. There are a

variety of weather impacts expected with this change in average temperatures. For example, storms are

expected to become more frequent and more severe. Some of the potential impacts of climate change

for Monroe County and southeast Michigan include:

• Increases in winter and spring precipitation

• Less precipitation as snow and more as rain

• Less winter ice on lakes

• Extended growing season (earlier spring/later fall)

• Greater frequency and intensity of storms

• More flooding events with risks of erosion

• Increases in frequency and length of severe heat events

• Increased risk of drought, particularly in summer

These changes in climate could have a number of both good and bad effects on the greater Monroe

area. For example, an extended growing season could help increase crop yields for area farmers. On the

other hand, the highly variable weather conditions such as severe storms and flooding mixed with

summer droughts present big challenges to farming.

The National Climate Assessment for 2009 (U.S. Global Change Research Program) includes a number of

illustrations that help us understand the extent and character of anticipated climate change impacts.

The section on the Midwest includes an illustration of projected summer climate for Illinois and

Michigan under two different emissions scenarios (see Figure 11). The higher emissions model refers to

the continuation of existing discharge levels. Models indicate that Michigan’s climate will feel more like

present-day Arkansas or Oklahoma by the end of the century. Responding to the impacts of climate

change will challenge many different parts of Monroe County, from social services to industrial

production. The following is a partial list of climate change impacts on community life as described by

USGCRP 2009 assessment (Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States, 2009):

Rivers, Stream and Lakes

• Decline in cold water fish populations – changing fisheries

• Lower river and lake levels and more frequent lake stratification

• Increases in pollution from stormwater runoff

Plants and Wildlife

• Increases in invasive species that damage local trees and plants

• Changes in tree species able to survive in the new regional climate

7/25/2017 21

Energy & Industry

• Increases in electrical energy demand due to heat

waves

• Reduced water availability from streams and

groundwater

Transportation

• Increased damage to roads and bridges from

flooding and heat waves

• Additional difficulty for shipping on the Great

Lakes due to lower water levels

Public Health Risks

• Increased risk of illness and death due to high

heat and humidity

• Increased risk of water contamination from

flooding events

• Increased risk of disease spread by mosquitoes,

ticks and other vectors

3.6 Hydrology

3.6.1 County Drains and Natural Watercourses

According to County Drain Commissioner David Thompson, Monroe County has approximately 1,100

drains (and 1,100 drainage districts). Around 200 of the drains are closed while the remaining 900 are

open. Most county drains are designed to accommodate a 10-year storm event. The most severe

flooding in recent history occurred in 2011 when there were two 25-year rain events back to back in a

two-day period.

Studies have shown that the removal of water from depressional areas of agricultural landscape through

artificial draining is a major contributor to increased water flow in riparian areas due to the significant

reduction of evapotranspiration. The water quality consequences that result from a change in

streamflow are substantially greater sedimentation which in turn causes increased turbidity and is a

direct result of stream channel widening caused by an increased rate of erosion. Drainage of natural

wetlands to increase the area of agricultural land and an increase in the amount of land artificially

drained has drastically reduced the amount of depressional areas and crop evapotranspiration.

Watersheds that are dominated by cultivated areas and poor soils have elevated losses of natural

depressional areas. This mechanistic change increases the amount of water transported from the

landscape into waterways. (Schottler, et. al. 2013).

Figure 11 Illinois and Michigan Emissions Scenarios (Source: Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States, 2009)

7/25/2017 22

3.6.2 Lake Erie

Excess phosphorus and harmful algal blooms plagued Lake Erie in the 1960s and 1970s. The Great Lakes

Water Quality agreement between the United States and Canada mitigated these issues by imposing

requirements on point source pollutants. Unfortunately, the algal blooms have returned to Lake Erie

from increased non-point source pollution. As described in the Resilient Monroe Resource Atlas (2013):

“According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), algal blooms have

returned to plague western Lake Erie for many of the last 10 years. Several types of algae take

advantage of high loads of nutrients, particularly phosphorus, and high levels of light in the

water to reproduce and grow. The resulting very dense blooms of algae pull oxygen out of the

water and release dangerous toxins.”

Lake Erie experienced its largest algal bloom in 2011, covering an area of 1,930 square miles (Figure 12).

According to Michalak (2013), “Long-term trends in agricultural practices are consistent with increasing

phosphorus loading to the western basin of the lake, and that these trends, coupled with meteorological

conditions in spring 2011, produced record-breaking nutrient loads.”

Scientific research associates the frequency and severity of algal blooms with current climate conditions

and farming practices. The effects of climate change on meteorological conditions have resulted in more

flashy rain events causing increased sedimentation and higher nutrient concentrations in runoff.

Challenges in dealing with water quality issues are likely to be greater due to these converging trends.

Figure 12 MODIS satellite image of Lake Erie on September 3, 2011, overlaid over map of Lake Erie tributaries. This image shows the bloom about 6 weeks after its initiation in the western basin. On this date, it covers the entire western

basin and is beginning to expand into the central basin, where it will continue to grow until October (Michalak 2013).

7/25/2017 23

3.7 Water Quality The biggest change to impact water quantity and quality in the S.S. Lapointe Drain (SSLD) watershed is

the original conversion of wetland, grassland, and forest to agriculture.

Where the land once seasonally flooded providing all of flooding’s benefits, such as peak flow shaving,

vernal pool habitat, sediment and nutrient storage and conversion, etc., we now drain with subsurface

drain tile and swale systems, also draining out nutrients, manure leachate, sediment and pesticides.

These drainage systems, on a localized basis, can also draw down the groundwater table. All the effort

put into controlling conditions in the fields has been at the expense of the waterways receiving field

runoff and drain tile flows.

The SSLD watershed was also impacted by point sources before passage of the Clean Water Act in 1973

and during the two‐decade period following passage and implementation of the National Pollutant

Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). NPDES helped create, manage and enforce water quality

standards that profoundly cleaned up many point sources and receiving waters across the country.

The SSLD is now facing the new leading cause of pollution nationally: non‐point pollution. The diffuse

nature of the non‐point sources is a barrier to reacting to them. They are harder and more expensive to

manage when they are essentially everywhere, rather than conveniently located in a few pipes. Now

every septic system, every drain tile, every yard is a potential culprit.

3.7.1 TMDLs/303d Listings

The TMDL/303(d) listed watersheds are central to the development of the S.S. Lapointe Drain

Watershed Management Plan (SSLD WMP). Lifting the TMDL/303(d) impairments is the primary goal of

this plan. The Section 303(d) list includes Michigan water bodies that are not attaining one or more

designated uses and require the establishment of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) to meet and

maintain Water Quality Standards (WQS).

When a lake or stream does not meet WQS, a study is undertaken to determine the amount of a

pollutant that can be put in a waterbody from point sources and nonpoint sources and still meet WQS,

including a margin of safety. The TMDL acronym is a shorthand description of the process which

determines how much pollutant load a lake or stream can assimilate. WQS are state rules established to

protect the Great Lakes, connecting waters, and all other surface waters of the state. These rules define

the water quality goals for a lake or stream. TMDLs are required by the federal Clean Water Act for

waterbodies that do not meet WQS. The maximum daily load of a pollutant is allocated to point source

discharges and to non-point source discharges, along with a margin of safety reserve to account for

uncertainties. Table 3 and Table 4 summarize the waterbodies within the SSLD watershed that are on

the 303(d) list.

• 8 Digit HUC: 04100001 Ottawa-Stony

• 10 Digit HUC: 0410000102 Otter-Creek- Frontal Lake Erie

• 12 Digit HUC: 041000010202 LaPlaisance Creek- Frontal Lake Erie

• AUID: 041000010202-01 LAKE ERIE LUNA PIER BEACH

• AUID 041000010202-02 S.S. Lapointe Drain

7/25/2017 24

Table 3 City of Luna Pier Beach, Lake Erie AUID 041000010202-01

Designated Use Use Support Cause Pollutant? TMDL

Schedule TMDL

Completion Expected to Attain

Total Body Contact Recreation Not supporting Escherichia coli Y 2007 8/1/2007

Partial Body Contact Recreation Not supporting Escherichia coli Y 2007 8/1/2007

Table 4 S.S. Lapointe Drain AUID 041000010201-02

Designated Use Use Support Cause Pollutant? TMDL

Schedule

TMDL

Completion

Expected

to Attain

Warm Water Fishery Not supporting Organic enrichment

(Sewage) Biological Y 2007 8/1/2007

Warm Water Fishery Not supporting Oxygen, Dissolved Y 2007 8/1/2007

Warm Water Fishery Not supporting Phosphorous (Total) Y 2007 8/1/2007

Other Indigenous Aquatic Life and Wildlife Not supporting Organic enrichment

(Sewage) Biological Y 2007 8/1/2007

Other Indigenous Aquatic Life and Wildlife Not supporting Oxygen, Dissolved Y 2007 8/1/2007

Other Indigenous Aquatic Life and Wildlife Not supporting Phosphorous (Total) Y 2007 8/1/2007