| Fresh Water-Healthy Lives Engaging Everyone in Preventing a Great Lakes Crisis |
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| To learn more see Published Articles Continued. Copyright 2006 Mary E. McKinney Schmidt |
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December 10, 2007 Protect State’s Heart and Soul When I was young and invincible, I hitchhiked through South Africa. A can of Coca-Cola was easier to find than a glass of water. When we lived in Tennessee, a raging grass fire fueled by drought and high winds came within one block of our house. Were it not for restrictions on outdoor watering, there would not have been enough water pressure to save our home. My husband and I could have lived anywhere in the country. We selected western Michigan. We can live without a lot of things. Water is not one of them. But it is a collective “we.” Farmers, manufacturers, river-side café owners, fishermen, tourists, and families like mine depend on our legislators to find the balance between the diverse, sometimes conflicting needs of the community. It is not easy work. As I write this column, committees in both Michigan’s House and Senate are debating legislation sparked by the need to ratify the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact. The Compact itself is a no-brainer. It is the only legally enforceable legislation to protect the Great Lakes from diversion outside the basin. But the Compact, which must be ratified by all eight Great Lakes states, Quebec, Ontario and eventually the U.S. Congress, leaves many of the difficult implementation decisions up to the states. That is the challenge facing our legislators. At a time when high unemployment casts a dark shadow on our state, can they balance the need for jobs with the protection of Michigan’s greatest resource? Can they avoid the temptation to place greatest weight on constituents offering employment and still consider the implications to our grandchildren? Can they legislate to protect our water while meeting the diverse needs of the collective “we?” Central to the debate is the treatment of water shipped out of the basin in small containers. Considered the “bottled water loophole,” it is the most important issue under discussion. Science has taught us groundwater, streams, rivers and lakes are part of a larger watershed. What is done to one affects the other. That means all waters, including groundwater, should be held in trust for the people by the government. The water cannot be sold as a commodity. It is owned by the public. We allow manufacturers, farmers and others to use our water. But the catalyst behind the creation of the Compact was the threat of a private company exporting Great Lakes waters in tankers for profit. There is no real distinction between selling and exporting water in tankers versus small containers. Either way, the government risks commoditizing a resource that is integral to our very existence. There are many other differences between the House and Senate bills. They include the role the water withdrawal assessment tool should play in the environmental review, the public involvement in the permitting process, and the criterion that defines large scale water users. But, to me, the issue is the public control of our watershed. Once we give that away, I don’t know how a community balances the needs of all its constituents. As we head into the final days of the legislative session, I hope our legislators put aside the divisive political rhetoric that has dominated the year. Our water is not a political issue. It is the heart and soul of our state. |
What you can do...
State Senator and your State Representative. Ask that they ratify the Compact AND include legislation outlined in House Bill 5065 designed to include all waters, including groundwater, in the public trust. |
January 14, 2008 Don't Look Far For Source of Phosphorus A shelf of green algae rolled in with the waves, darkening the waters outside “Big Red.” My stomach curled as I realized I’d have to wade through several feet of the thick, green slime before I could reach clean water. Many of us shake our fists at other cities when heavy rains overpower treatment facilities, dumping raw sewage into Lake Michigan. But our community is guilty of another damaging source of pollution Excessive levels of phosphorus race through Holland’s storm sewers, entering Lake Michigan through what scientists call “non point” sources of pollution. Surface runoff and groundwater infiltration are the primary culprits. “Could the algae I saw be cladophora?” I asked Dr. Alan Steinman, Director of Grand Valley State University's Annis Water Resources Institute. My heart sank as I heard his response. Cladophora is native to the Great Lakes. But its explosive growth over the last couple of years is anything but natural. Spurred by higher levels of phosphorus and increased sunlight because quagga and zebra mussels are filtering the water, cladophora is spreading rapidly along Michigan’s shoreline. Its dense mats form an ideal breeding ground for Type E botulism, a poison scientists consider the culprit behind the death of thousands of birds that littered the beaches of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore last summer. There is not much we can do about the mussels. But the phosphorus loads in Lake Macatawa are significantly higher than federal standards established by the Clean Water Act. In its most recent study, the Environmental Protection Agency found the Macatawa watershed as polluted in 2006 as it was in 1996. We have no right to point fingers anywhere else. Ottawa County’s ban on the sale of fertilizers containing phosphorus will help. Allegan County must pass similar legislation. But the greatest challenge lies upstream, along the shores of the Macatawa River and its tributaries. Farmers straightened the river in the late 1800’s. Without its meandering, holding ponds and wetlands, the river roars through the countryside during storms, picking up thousands of gallons of phosphorus-rich sediment along the way. That sediment dumps into Lake Macatawa, eventually reaching Lake Michigan. The Macatawa Greenway Partnership, the Ottawa County Parks Commission and other public and private organizations are investing in the restoration of portions of the river. In addition to providing public access to natural areas, their efforts reconfiguring the river and adding wetlands and buffers should improve the river’s water quality. But most of the river and its related tributaries slice through farmlands. And according to scientists, crop soil management and the nutrient and manure programs of large livestock operations are critical to managing heavy phosphorus loads. Who is focused on these potential sources of pollution? The ultimate responsibility for our watershed lies with the Macatawa Area Coordinating Council. Yet despite our non-compliance with federal standards, despite ten years without progress, there is no full-time person devoted to cleaning up our watershed. Will it take dead birds to prioritize the necessary staffing and funding? All of us can play a role in minimizing phosphorus levels. We can use downspouts to divert runoff to gardens and lawns rather than allowing it to flow unabated to storm sewers. We can use cleaning detergents and fertilizers with little or no phosphorus. We can be good stewards of this earth. The birds soaring overhead are depending on us. |
A thick shelf of algae washes up along the shores of Northpoint, the tip of the peninsula north of Traverse
City. While algae like cladophora is native to the Great Lakes, increasing levels of sunlight and
phosphorus are causing the algae to spread rapidly along the coastal shores of Lake Michigan. A
breeding ground for Type E botulism, cladophora is responsible for the death of thousands of loons,
ducks and seagulls. In addition, disposing of the dense, heavy mats that wash up on the sandy beaches
is an increasing environmental issue for shoreline communities.
City. While algae like cladophora is native to the Great Lakes, increasing levels of sunlight and
phosphorus are causing the algae to spread rapidly along the coastal shores of Lake Michigan. A
breeding ground for Type E botulism, cladophora is responsible for the death of thousands of loons,
ducks and seagulls. In addition, disposing of the dense, heavy mats that wash up on the sandy beaches
is an increasing environmental issue for shoreline communities.
What You Can Do...
the natural balance of the ecosystem. You can help!
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Farmers straightened the Macatawa River in the late 1800s. Without its meandering, without ample
holding ponds and buffer strips, the river roars through the countryside during storms, picking up
thousands of gallons of phosphorus-rich sediment along the way. Thanks to the Macatawa Greenway
Partnership, the Ottawa County Parks and Recreation Commission, and a number of public and private
organizations, portions of the river are being restored. The Upper Macatawa Natural Area (pictured
above) is one of those restoration projects. Notice how straight the river is in the upper right hand
corner! Photograph courtesy of Greg Holcombe.
holding ponds and buffer strips, the river roars through the countryside during storms, picking up
thousands of gallons of phosphorus-rich sediment along the way. Thanks to the Macatawa Greenway
Partnership, the Ottawa County Parks and Recreation Commission, and a number of public and private
organizations, portions of the river are being restored. The Upper Macatawa Natural Area (pictured
above) is one of those restoration projects. Notice how straight the river is in the upper right hand
corner! Photograph courtesy of Greg Holcombe.