The Grand RiverOverview of Water Quality and Ecological Health

Daniel M. O’Keefe, Ph.D.Michigan Sea Grant

MSU Extension

How does surface water quality in Ottawa County

compare to other areasof the state?

Audience Polling Results from 4th Annual Ottawa County WQF - 2009

Audience Polling Results from 6th Annual Ottawa County WQF - 2011

Audience Polling Results from 7th Annual Ottawa County WQF - 2012

How would you rate Ottawa County’s surface water quality in relation to other areas of the state?

1. Excellent2. Good3. Average4. Poor5. Terrible

Excelle

ntGood

Average

Poor

Terrible

10%

51%

0%3%

35%

How would you rate surface water quality in the Grand River in relation to other areas of the state?

1. Excellent2. Good3. Average4. Poor5. Terrible

Excelle

ntGood

Average

Poor

Terrible

3%

23%

1%

21%

52%

How ‘healthy’ is the Grand River?

Image from lifeinfreshwater.org.uk

Vannote et al. 1980

The River Continuum

Headwater CreeksLow Fish Diversity

Trout, Sculpin

Midreach StreamsBalanced Energy Inputs

Suckers, Sm. Bass

Large RiversBackwaters Important

Highly Productive

Diverse Fish Species

How ‘healthy’ is the Grand River?

Elements of Water Quality

• Physical – temperature, conductivity, turbidity

• Chemical – oxygen, nutrients, toxics, pharmaceuticals

• Biological – fecal indicators, pathogens, BOD

• These factors are often interrelated

Other Components of Ecological Health

• Biological Communities – fish, invertebrates

• Contaminants in Fish – PCBs, mercury

• Stream Hydrology – patterns of stream flow over time

• Watershed – soils, land use, BMPs, nutrient sources

• Habitat – riparian vegetation, substrate, sinuosity

How ‘healthy’ is the Grand River?

Can we reduce this to a single number?

Presented at 9th AnnualOttawa County WQF

Improving Water Quality in the Grand River Basin through

Strategic Investment

City of Grand Rapids

Eric Delong, Deputy City ManagerMike Lunn, Environmental Service ManagerCity of Grand Rapids

Presented at 7th Annual Ottawa County WQF

Grand River CSO’s 2010Million Gallons

Source: Michigan Department of Environmental QualityCombined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) and Retention Treatment Basin (RTB) Discharge2010 Annual Report(January 1, 2010 - December 31, 2010)

Grand Rapids RegionUpstream (Yellow)/Downstream (Blue)

Water Quality Index (WQI)

24

WQI value Water quality Aquatic life Recreational use0-25 Poor Very limited No body contact25-50 Fair Low diversity Limited body contact51-70 Average Some stress Use with caution71-90 Good High diversity Very few limits91-100 Excellent High diversity Fully usable

Polling at 7th AnnualOttawa County WQF - 2012

Before

After

Presented at 1st AnnualOttawa County WQF

Presented at 7th AnnualOttawa County WQF

Testing conducted in 2012

Presented at 9th AnnualOttawa County WQF

Other Components of Ecological Health

• Biological Communities – fish, invertebrates

• Contaminants in Fish – PCBs, mercury

• Stream Hydrology – patterns of stream flow over time

• Watershed – soils, land use, BMPs, nutrient sources

• Habitat – riparian vegetation, substrate, sinuosity

Macroinvertebrates

• Diverse dragonflies and damselflies in lower Grand

• 2009 DEQ survey found “poor” macroinvertebratesat all three Ottawa Co. Grand River sites

• Mostly chironomids and very few sensitive species

“Bloodworms” are a larval chironomids that tolerate low O2.

Many caddisfly species do not tolerate poor water quality.

Fish Diversity

• 108 fish spp. in Grand River watershed

• ~100 in Ottawa County

• Two state threatened species in Ottawa Co.

• Diverse habitats and connectivity are critical

• 31 watersheds in Michigan assessed

• Impairment ranged from 1.7% to 90.1%

• 38.6% of rkm in Grand watershed impaired

• Grand ranked 9 of 31 most impaired

Riseng et al. 2010

Fish Inverts Both

Other Components of Ecological Health

• Biological Communities – fish, invertebrates

• Contaminants in Fish – PCBs, mercury

• Stream Hydrology – patterns of stream flow over time

• Watershed – soils, land use, BMPs, nutrient sources

• Habitat – riparian vegetation, substrate, sinuosity

Grand River (Ottawa County)

Lake Michigan

From MCDH Eat Safe Fish Gide

Other Components of Ecological Health

• Biological Communities – fish, invertebrates

• Contaminants in Fish – PCBs, mercury

• Stream Hydrology – patterns of stream flow over time

• Watershed – soils, land use, BMPs, nutrient sources

• Habitat – riparian vegetation, substrate, sinuosity

Hydrograph of a “Flashy” Stream

MDNR Figure

Factors Leading to Flashy Hydrology

• Channelization and snag removal

• Draining of wetlands and levee building

• Soil type and impervious surfaces

• Frequency, timing, and magnitude of precipitation events and climate change

Certain tributaries extensively channelized

Half of historic wetlands have been filled

Diverse soil types; 9% urban land use

Other Components of Ecological Health

• Biological Communities – fish, invertebrates

• Contaminants in Fish – PCBs, mercury

• Stream Hydrology – patterns of stream flow over time

• Watershed – soils, land use, BMPs, nutrient sources

• Habitat – riparian vegetation, substrate, sinuosity

Phosphorus Sourcesa) Atmospheric deposition

b) Manure application

c) Agricultural chemical fertilizer

d) Septic tanks

e) Non-agricultural fertilizer

f) Point sources

From Luscz et al. 2015

AgriculturalChemical Fertilizer

1 Au Sable 0.202 Black 0.373 Lone Lake - Ocqueoc 0.454 Thunder Bay 0.615 Cheboygan 0.846 Au Gres - Rifle 0.867 Betsie - Platte 0.878 Manistee 0.919 PM- White 1.0410 Boardman - Chlx 1.4611 Muskegon 1.5112 Clinton 1.5213 Huron 1.6714 Tittabawassee 1.8815 Flint 3.6216 Lower Grand 3.7717 Macatawa 3.8418 Kalamazoo 4.0619 Upper Grand 4.1320 Pine 4.1321 Thornapple 4.9822 Cass 5.1023 Kawkalin - Pine 5.3624 Shiawassee 5.9825 Maple 6.6026 Saginaw 6.7027 Pigeon - Wiscoggin 7.0928 Birch - Willow 8.39

Watershed Sources of Gross Total PhosphorusThese values are kg/ha/yr applied to land in each watershed.

Manure

1 Betsie - Platte 0.212 Black 0.223 Au Sable 0.244 Lone Lake - Ocqueoc 0.275 Manistee 0.346 Cheboygan 0.357 Clinton 0.378 Boardman - Chx 0.429 Huron 0.7110 Thunder Bay 0.7211 PM - White 0.7412 Kawkalin - Pine 0.8113 Saginaw 0.9314 Au Gres - Rifle 1.0115 Flint 1.0716 Tittabawassee 1.1017 Shiawassee 1.4718 Muskegon 1.5719 Cass 1.7320 Upper Grand 1.7921 Pine 1.9122 Thornapple 2.3623 Pigeon - Wiscoggin 2.9924 Maple 3.0825 Lower Grand 3.2426 Kalamazoo 3.5027 Birch – Willow 3.5328 Macatawa 4.99

Non-Agricultural Chemical Fertilizer

1 Au Sable 0.012 Black 0.013 Lone Lake - Ocqueoc 0.014 Thunder Bay 0.015 Au Gres - Rifle 0.016 Manistee 0.017 Pere Marquette - White 0.028 Maple 0.029 Pigeon - Wiscoggin 0.0210 Birch - Willow 0.0211 Betsie - Platte 0.0312 Cass 0.0313 Muskegon 0.0414 Pine 0.0415 Tittabawassee 0.0516 Cheboygan 0.0617 Kawkalin - Pine 0.0618 Boardman - Charlevoix 0.0719 Thornapple 0.0720 Shiawassee 0.1021 Macatawa 0.1122 Kalamazoo 0.1223 Clinton 0.1424 Upper Grand 0.1825 Lower Grand 0.2426 Flint 0.2527 Saginaw 0.2828 Huron 0.48

Values from Luscz et al. 2015

Slide Credit: Joe Duris, USGS, 9th Annual Ottawa Co. WQF

Acknowledgements

• Mike Lunn and Eric Delong, City of Grand Rapids• Dr. Joan Rose and Dr. Phanikumar Manta, MSU• Dr. Vijay Kannappan, Michigan DEQ• Sam Noffke, Michigan DEQ• Joe Duris, U.S. Geological Survey• Dr. Catherine Riseng, U of M & Michigan Sea Grant• Scott Hanshue, Michigan DNR• Dr. Don Jackson, Mississippi State University

How would you rate surface water quality in the Grand River in relation to other areas of the state?

1. Excellent2. Good3. Average4. Poor5. Terrible

Excelle

ntGood

Average

Poor

Terrible

2%

46%

0%

8%

43%

QUESTIONS?

Other Components of Ecological Health

• Biological Communities – fish, invertebrates

• Contaminants in Fish – PCBs, mercury

• Stream Hydrology – patterns of stream flow over time

• Watershed – soils, land use, BMPs, nutrient sources

• Habitat – riparian vegetation, substrate, sinuosity

Legacy of Dredging

• 1881 River and Harbor Act authorized dredging to Grand Rapids

• 1886 completion of 60’ wide 4 ½’ deep channel

• 1887 report concluded in-channel deep water connection from Grand Rapids to Lk. MI

• 1930 River and Harbor Act abandoned Grand River above Bass River

• Adjacent canal using river water proposed but never attempted…