A cooperative effort of government, business, education, citizen groups, and landowners, has been actively working on a Watershed Management Planning project in the Upper Maple River Watershed which encompasses portions of Clinton, Gratiot, and Shiawassee counties. The Maple River is one of six major tributaries of the Grand River which eventually flows into Lake Michigan. The area of focus known as the Upper Maple River Watershed is made up 16 smaller sub-watersheds and covers approximately 498 square miles in total. Portions of the Maple River State Game Area, the Gratiot-Saginaw State Game Area, and Sleepy Hollow State Park all fall within the Watershed. The Cities of Ithaca, Fowler, and St. Johns are located inside the watershed as well as the villages of Maple Rapids, Ovid, Elsie, Perrinton, and Ashley.
The focus of the watershed management planning project is to address non-point source pollution. Non-point source pollution occurs when a pollutant such as pathogens, nutrients, or sediment winds up in the drains, streams, rivers, and lakes at non specific points at irregular occurrences. Examples of non-point source pollution include; fertilizers on lawns that get washed into streams during rain events, soil from agricultural fields that erodes and washes into drains, and oil and salt on city streets that get washed into stormwater drains and carried into rivers.
The goal of the project was to identify what water quality problems exist in the watershed and how they can be addressed. This was accomplished through monitoring and analysis of the watershed, reviewing various community policies and ordinances, and engaging residents of the watershed about water quality concerns. The data was compiled in a Watershed Management Plan (WMP) draft, which will be submitted for approval from the DEQ and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The next step after the WMP is approved is to apply for implementation funds. These funds will enable us to carry out the watershed improvement techniques outlined in the WMP.
For further information on the Upper Maple River Watershed Management Planning Project, contact the Clinton Conservation District at 2343 N. US-27, St. Johns, MI, 48879, phone (989) 224-3720 ext 3.
Click below to download the draft WMP:
| masterrvwdrft_2009_0113.pdf |
| File Size: | 16670 kb |
| File Type: | pdf |
Download File
| umr_policyrev_complete.pdf |
| File Size: | 2681 kb |
| File Type: | pdf |
Download File
| public_meeting_3.pdf |
| File Size: | 3190 kb |
| File Type: | pdf |
Download File
File too large? Try downloading individual chapters:
| covertitlepagetoc.pdf |
| File Size: | 736 kb |
| File Type: | pdf |
Download File
