Scientific Investigations Report 2006-5071

USGS Michigan

Water Science Center Home

USGS in Your State

USGS Water Science Centers are located in each state.

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.