51 Comments            Close This Window
is there a detailed michigan waterfall(s) map available? Either a hard copy or online copy would be fine. Really need to get this info for a waterfall vacation tour this summer....
garymc@cass.net said at Monday, January 02, 2006 19:05:02
We're not aware of any, but the DNR web site used to have a link about waterfalls throughout the state. You may want to browse their web site at www.mi.gov/dnr.
sorrell@mi.gov said at Tuesday, January 03, 2006 09:08:37
There are many waterfall links if you do a Google search for 'waterfalls' and 'Michigan.'
Anonymous said at Tuesday, January 03, 2006 10:11:49
Hello, what method is currently employed by the State for furnishing flow rates when requested for a drain/stream? Thanks!
cak said at Tuesday, January 17, 2006 13:13:08
Waterfalls in MI----DeLorme publishes a map book of michigan (about 100 pages)which lists and maps all significant waterfalls.
Kyle Seidel said at Wednesday, January 18, 2006 09:33:44
We use our modified SCS method and NRCS' Windows TR-55 program for small watersheds and the USGS regression method for larger ones. Our SCS method can be downloaded from the Reports section of our web page. The regression program is at http://water.usgs.gov/software/nff.html and TR-55 is at http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/hydro/hydro-tools-models-wintr55.html. If stream gage data are available, we will use a statistical frequency analysis of the annual maximum floods. We use USGS' PEAKFQ program for the statistical analysis and it can be downloaded at http://water.usgs.gov/software/peakfq.html.
Ric Sorrell said at Wednesday, January 18, 2006 09:40:55
Hello, do you ever use the landuse delineations provided on DIT's Center for Geographic Information's website (in ArcView), or do you typically do your own delineations?
Anonymous said at Monday, January 30, 2006 21:07:59
We use the CGI landuse files because they are still our best available information. We will use more up-to-date shapefiles if someone sends it to us, but that situation is rare. More current data are usually tabulated on a countywide scale, and that information should be sent to CGI to include on the web site.
Ric Sorrell said at Tuesday, January 31, 2006 12:24:55
Do you have any resources on grants that may be available to help a small inland lake up north return to it's former glory?
Anonymous said at Thursday, February 02, 2006 18:27:06
DEQ's Nonpoint Source Program is currently accepting grant applications. Information is available at http://www.michigan.gov/deq/0,1607,7-135-3313_3682_3714-133775--,00.html. See www.mi.gov/deqnps for more information about NPS staff to contact, watersheds with approved watershed plans, etc.
Dave Fongers said at Wednesday, February 08, 2006 14:42:43
Great blog! What is my best resource for estimating 40-year drought runoff rates (for streams) and volumes (for lakes)? Thanks.
Bob Haneline - Rowe, Inc. said at Tuesday, February 14, 2006 20:00:01
For inland lake grant information, I would start with the Inland Lakes Monitoring Program in the DEQ's Water Bureau. You can contact program staff at 517-335-4211.
Ric Sorrell said at Wednesday, February 15, 2006 09:15:26
Drought flows are cumputed by our unit. Marlio Lesmez is the drought flow contact and you can reach him at 517-335-3173 or use our on-line discharge request form.
Ric Sorrell said at Wednesday, February 15, 2006 11:00:49
can anyone at the DEQ tell me how hydrology works in an wet land. Thanks!
pclem2@verizon.net said at Monday, April 24, 2006 09:31:05
You can find a description of wetland hydrology in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer's Wetland Delineation Manual. A link to the manual and other wetland information is on the DEQ's Wetlands Protection page at www.mi.gov/deqwetlands.
Ric Sorrell said at Monday, April 24, 2006 10:07:16
Can you tell me where I can find lake depths for inland lakes? Thank you.
Dan said at Wednesday, April 26, 2006 11:07:52
Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) has depth maps for many lakes. The maps they have available are on their web site at: www.mucc.org/OrderingMapsCharts.htm If the lake you want is not listed, you can contact the Inland Lakes Program in the DEQ's Water Bureau at 517-335-4173 to see if they have other information.
Ric Sorrell said at Wednesday, April 26, 2006 12:26:48
where can I get hydrologic data on a specific site?
Ed Tieppo said at Friday, June 02, 2006 17:06:18
Flows calculated by the MDEQ's Hydrologic Studies Unit are available at http://www.deq.state.mi.us/flow/. A map of real-time USGS gage data for Michigan streams is at http://water.usgs.gov/cgi-bin/daily_flow?mi. All USGS gage data is available through http://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis.
Dave Fongers said at Monday, June 05, 2006 08:51:20
I have a pond that has been around for many years. I recently purchased this property and discovered that the pond has filled in over the years, as pond do. Is there any programs that would assist a homeowner in digging out the pond to its previous depth?
Art Harter said at Sunday, July 23, 2006 15:47:38
You should contact one of our District Offices, since you may be required to obtain a permit to dredge the pond. Please call our main office at 517-373-1170 and they can direct you to the proper District Office. You can also find a telephone contact by clicking on the Land/Water Permits link in the LWMD Links section on our web page at www.mi.gov/deqlwmd .
Ric Sorrell said at Monday, July 24, 2006 14:24:41
Lake depths, "bathymetry" maps can also be found on selected lakes by doing a water body search on the Michigan Recreational Boating System (MRBIS). Click on the bathymetry icon to see a PDF map of the lake. The MRBIS web site can be found at http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/MRBIS/
Dave Forstat said at Thursday, July 27, 2006 22:45:53
I want to find out more about the waterfalls
Anonymous said at Thursday, October 12, 2006 09:52:57
One link to Michigan waterfalls is http://www.fishweb.com/recreation/hike/waterfalls/index.html You can find more by doing a Google search for "michigan" and "waterfalls."
Ric Sorrell said at Friday, October 13, 2006 07:53:25
How can I view aerial photos of Michigan waterfalls?
John Davis said at Monday, October 23, 2006 20:22:51
Aerial photography for all of Michigan can be downloaded from the Michigan Center for Geographic Information (www.mi.gov/cgi). Follow the MI Geographic Data Library link on the left hand menu and you can download aerials by county. Internet applications like Google Earth will let you view aerial photography without the need to download the files and use a GIS viewer.
Ric Sorrell said at Monday, October 30, 2006 09:48:08
What are typical methods/resources one might use to calculate the rural regression component, "CHSWAP" (main-channel length percentage that passes through swamp, lake, or pond)? Neat blog by the way.
Ken R. said at Thursday, November 02, 2006 16:11:20
Topographic maps are most often used both to measure the main channel length and the percentage that passes through swamps and lakes. If you use the paper maps, dividers are used to measure the respective lengths. We do all of our measuring digitally using ArcView and its measuring tools.
Ric Sorrell said at Monday, November 06, 2006 11:36:27
hi sorrell, thanks for providing this link .. www.mi.gov/cgi cheers gudipudi
gudipudi said at Tuesday, November 07, 2006 23:38:08
Is there a way to accurately predict runoff from Michigan watersheds using USDA TR-20 and match the results generated using the SCS-2003 spreadsheet methodology?
Anonymous said at Wednesday, November 22, 2006 10:22:47
You can use TR-20 (and Win TR-55) to reproduce the Michigan SCS results, but you need to input the Michigan-specific dimensionless unit hydrograph ordinates into each program. The triangular version of these ordinates are: 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 0.8, 0.6, 0.4, 0.2, and 0.0
Ric Sorrell said at Monday, November 27, 2006 08:41:46
We have collected a sediment sample from a stream and found pesticides. Part 201 cleanup criteria don't seem applicable. Are there published sediment action levels?
dswitzer@yeomangroup.net said at Wednesday, November 29, 2006 07:31:37
Does MDEQ typically have hydraulic model data available for FIS studies in MI? I'm looking for some old HEC-2 data (electronic or hard copy) to convert to RAS. Thanks!
craig said at Thursday, November 30, 2006 10:02:37
Good morning, does MDEQ typically have FEMA HEC-2 files on record for use in creating duplicate hydraulic models on new projects? Thanks!
cak said at Monday, December 04, 2006 08:51:18
That program is in the DEQ Remediation and Redevelopment Division. You can contact them at 517-373-9837.
Ric Sorrell said at Monday, December 04, 2006 11:30:55
The previous comment relates the the Part 201 question.
Ric Sorrell said at Monday, December 04, 2006 11:33:27
We scanned the hydraulic support data for FIS's several years ago, so we should at least have PDF copies of older HEC-2 runs for most of the state. We only have the electronic files for the more recent studies. If you want something in particular, please contact us.
Ric Sorrell said at Monday, December 04, 2006 11:38:50
HEC-HMS 3.1 and HEC-RAS 4.0 beta have been released. Check the HEC web site at www.hec.usace.army.mil for additional information about these releases.
Ric Sorrell said at Wednesday, January 03, 2007 09:30:24
I have found your site very interesting. Please give the updates. Cheers, James ------------------------------- http://www.coffeebreakusa.com/
James said at Wednesday, January 31, 2007 03:19:34
I am having a tough time finding evaporation data (longer term averages) for the Houghton Lake area...Any suggestions?
Eric said at Friday, February 09, 2007 09:27:57
NOAA Technical Report NWS 33 is an evaporation atlas for the U.S. This includes maps of evaporation from an open water body annually and seasonally. The report and maps are online at http://www.weather.gov/oh/hdsc/studies/pmp.html Note that you do need a plug-in that is available on the same web page.
Ric Sorrell said at Friday, February 09, 2007 14:16:13
I'm working with Rational Method in different locations throughout Michigan. Are the intestity factors (K and b) published somewhere by the MDEQ? I=K/t+b
John Marsh, Atwell Hicks said at Monday, March 26, 2007 10:41:48
The MDEQ does not use or recommend use of the rational method. For very small watersheds, we use the NRCS Windows TR-55 method. If you do use the rational method, it should be limited to the smallest of watersheds (<20 acres), preferably with one, single land use. All of the methods we use are based on total rainfall, not intensity. The rainfall values are in the NWS publication "Rainfall Frequency Atlas of the Midwest," Bulletin 71. The PDF version of this report can be downloaded from www.sws.uiuc.edu You can divide the rainfall by the duration for a specified frequency to convert depth of rainfall to an intensity.
Ric Sorrell said at Tuesday, March 27, 2007 08:25:59
Maybe this is a little off topic, but I am looking for information on stormwater responsibilities. The local drain commission modified the culvert in front of my house and now my house has flooded twice causing serious damages. The drain commissioner denies any responsibilities, and I need to get something done to fix the culvert properly and hopefully fix my property that was damaged and destroyed. Any information or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, ASM
ASM said at Thursday, September 11, 2008 15:51:51
Please contact the district staff person listed on the LWMD Permitting staff map at http://www.michigan.gov/documents/deq/lwm-landwater-staffmap_202694_7.pdf or contact the person listed at the top of this page.
Dave Fongers said at Friday, September 19, 2008 13:22:38
i was wondering if i could do a printout map on the web of the waterfalls in the upper pen. of michigan
mary wilkinson said at Sunday, September 28, 2008 19:02:35
Several links to Michigan waterfalls are: http://www.fishweb.com/recreation/hike/waterfalls/index.html http://www.gowaterfalling.com/waterfalls/maps/statemichigan.shtml http://geology.com/waterfalls/michigan.shtml http://michelesworld.net/dmm2/waterfal/uppermic.htm There is also a book titled "A Guide to 199 Michigan Waterfalls." You can find more by doing a Google search for Michigan waterfalls.
Dave Fongers said at Thursday, October 02, 2008 11:24:04
Your Water Budget Guidance mentions pan evaporation data available at the Hydrologic Studies Unit. Is this data online, or who should I contact to get it?
bg said at Wednesday, July 01, 2009 16:47:59
There is a map (figure 2) on page 10 of the report (http://www.michigan.gov/documents/deq/lwm-waterbudget_202791_7.pdf) for the May-Oct from an open water surface. The total evaporation may be obtained from it. Then the distribution (%) is given on page 3 of the same report. The map is from the reference on page 9. For more information, contact the Hydrologic Studies Unit directly at 517-373-1170. Also note that daily evaporation is available for many sites through the Michigan Automated Weather Network, http://www.agweather.geo.msu.edu/mawn/. The report gives the procedure to convert PET data to Evaporation data on page 3
Dave Fongers said at Tuesday, July 07, 2009 11:23:50
I have been using the MDEQ Discharge Data Base and Drainage Area Ratio Method for determining flood discharges used in "Level Two" scour evaluations... I have just encountered Culver Creek in Bay County... The discharges provided for the Midland Road crossing (6.9 sq mi) are considerably larger than those given just downstream at N Union Rd (7.3 sq mi)... I realize that the methods of anylsis are approximate but what is up with this??? Are the drainage basins normalized top to bottom somehow??? Your thaughts and any suggestions would be greatly appreciated... Thanks,
Dan Krull (dkrull@wadetrim.com) said at Monday, October 19, 2009 14:46:35
I reviewed the peak flow estimates on Culver Creek. I found a discrepancy in the time of concentration estimates for Midland Road and North Union Road that doesn't seem justified, given the proximity of the two sites. These issues are typically addressed when a new discharge is estimated and compared to those previously reported. I apologize for the oversight and thank you for bringing this to our attention. I've updated the peak discharges for Culver Creek. Please let me know if you have any additional questions. Linda Burke, DEQ Hydrologic Studies Unit (burkeL4@michigan.gov)
Dave Fongers said at Tuesday, October 20, 2009 15:06:00