Michigan Lake Water Clarity interactive mapping service (IMS) website

The U.S. Geological Survey Michigan Water Science Center and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program, are pleased to announce the "Michigan Lake Water Clarity interactive mapping service (IMS) website for Predicted Secchi-Disk Transparency (SDT) Depths, Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), and Trophic State Index (TSI) Values". The IMS website shows predicted water clarity for inland lakes greater than 25 acres generated by relating Landsat satellite imagery to field data. The Predicting Water-Clarity project main webpage outlines the remote sensing project, the process by which the water clarity was predicted, a report documenting the process, a fact sheet summarizing the project with more information on SDT, Chl-a, and TSI, links to similar projects in other states, downloadable data and metadata, and references.

Emerging Contaminants In the Environment

Chemicals, used every day in homes, industry, and agriculture, can enter the environment in wastewater. These chemicals include human and veterinary drugs (including antibiotics), hormones, detergents, disinfectants, plasticizers, fire retardants, insecticides, and antioxidants. To assess whether these chemicals are entering our Nation's streams, and the potential effects of some of these chemicals, the Toxic Substances Hydrology Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has initiated numerous studies over the last 5-10 years. Information on these studies and publications from completed work, and links to further sources of information can be accessed at: http://toxics.usgs.gov/regional/emc/index.html

The USGS Michigan Water Science Center has also been involved in several studies of the occurrence of pharmaceuticals, organic wastewater compounds, and other emerging chemical and biological contaminants.  This work has been conducted in cooperation with many local and State entities through our cooperative water program (http://mi.water.usgs.gov/cooperat.php).  Below are selected reports that highlight the science and data collection that has been conducted in Michigan. 

Bacteria and Emerging Chemical Contaminants in the St. Clair River/Lake St. Clair Basin, Michigan

Screening for the Pesticides Atrazine, Chlorpyrifos, Diazinon, Metolachlor, and Simazine in Selected Michigan Streams, March-November 2005

Antibiotic-Resistant Fecal Bacteria, Antibiotics, and Mercury in Surface Waters of Oakland County, Michigan, 2005-2006

Water resources data, Oakland County, Michigan 2001-2004

Water-quality data, Huron County, Michigan 2004

Atrazine concentrations in stream water and streambed sediment pore water in the St. Joseph and Galien River basins, Michigan and Indiana, May 2001-September 2003

CBS News Online - Probe: Pharmaceuticals In Drinking Water

Featured Project: Water Resources of Lake St. Clair and its U.S. Tributaries

In 2003, the Lake St. Clair Regional Monitoring Project (LSCRMP) partners, consisting of the Macomb County Health Department, Environmental Consulting & Technology, Inc., Oakland County Drain Commission, St. Clair County Health Department, Wayne County Department of the Environment, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, and the U.S. Geological Survey, developed plans for a 3-year comprehensive assessment of the hydrological, chemical, and physical state of the surface water of Lake St. Clair and its tributaries. The program was in response to citizens concerns about public health issues such as beach closings, drinking water threats, and fish consumption advisories.

The study included continuous water-quality monitoring at 13 fixed stations; automatic and discrete (grab) sampling during 10 wet weather events; continuous and miscellaneous streamflow measurements at 23 locations; rainfall monitoring at 5 locations, sampling of 4 lakes, and analyses of historical water-and bed-sediment-quality data. Descriptions of the LSCRMP and data collected during the project are available at http://www.lakestclairdata.net.

The USGS, working as cooperative project partner, documented their findings in the following reports:

• Results of an assessment of nonpoint-source loads of nutrients and total-suspended solids in the Black, Belle, and Pine River basins utilizing the U.S. EPA’s PLOAD model are shown in Scientific Investigations Report 2006-5071.
• The spatial distribution and concentrations of contaminants of concern in streambed and lakebed sediments in the U.S. part of the Lake St. Clair basin is described in Scientific Investigations Report 2006-5189.
• A summary of bacteria and emerging-chemical-contaminant monitoring in the St. Clair River/Lake St. Clair basin is available in Open File Report 2007-1083.
• Numerous cooperative water-resources monitoring efforts conducted in the St. Clair/Lake St. Clair basin over the last 100 years are described in Open File Report 2007-1148.
• Stream-water quality during storm-runoff events and low-flow periods in the St. Clair River/lake St. Clair basin from the early 1970’s through 2005 is described in Open File Report 2007-1201.
• A comprehensive assessment of the hydrological, chemical, and physical state of the surface water of Lake St. Clair and its tributaries is documented in Scientific Investigations Report 2007-5172.