August 24, 2006

Five volunteer organizations will be helping the state of Michigan track water quality starting this year, with grant upport from the Michigan Clean Water Corps (MiCorps).

The grants, awarded through the MiCorps Volunteer Stream Monitoring Program, will provide training and operational support for the volunteer groups to help them obtain high-quality data on the state’s water resources. Such data is critical to the Department of Environmental Quality's efforts to protect and manage the state's water resources.

Now in its second year, the MiCorps program was established by Gov. Jennifer Granholm to assist the efforts of the state’s volunteer water quality organizations.

“Volunteer water quality groups represent a significant resource in our state’s efforts to keep tabs on and protect water quality in our rivers, streams, and the lakes they drain into, including the Great Lakes,” said Lt. Gov. John Cherry, vice chair of the Great Lakes Commission, which administers the program. “These dedicated volunteers greatly expand our ability to monitor water quality in our state and help us achieve our goal of protecting Michigan's environment and public health.”

Much of the work involves monitoring populations of macroinvertebrates, water-dwelling insects, worms, mollusks, crustaceans and other creatures, some of which are highly sensitive to changes in water quality and provide food for fish and other higher organisms. Other work involves monitoring water chemistry for evidence of pollution.

The five volunteer organizations will share nearly $50,000 in grant funds to support their work. This year’s recipient organizations and programs are:

• Barry (County) Conservation District - Monitoring 22 sites on 15 water
  bodies in the Thornapple River watershed;

• Clinton River Watershed Council - Significantly expand monitoring
  coverage provided by the council’s Adopt-A-Stream program and bring
  it in line with MiCorps standard protocols and quality assurance;

• Glen Lake Association, Inc. - Monitoring macroinvertebrate diversity
  and abundance in Hatlem Creek, the main tributary to Glen Lake
  (Leelanau County), and measuring basic water quality parameters to
  better understand the status of the tributary and its impact on the water
  quality of the lake and its fish and other wildlife;

• Mid-Michigan Environmental Action Council - Monitoring
  macroinvertebrate populations and aquatic habitat in the Red Cedar
  River and nearby waters;

• The Sierra Club - Monitoring at least ten sites along the Menominee
  River and tributaries (in the western Upper Peninsula) in an area of
  current and planned sulfide mining.

The Volunteer Stream Monitoring Program was established by the DEQ in 1998 and placed under MiCorps administration in 2005. Through this year, it has awarded nearly $340,000 in monitoring grants to volunteer organizations.

For more information, visit the MiCorps Web site at www.micorps.net.

Editor’s note: DEQ news releases are available on the department’s Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

“Protecting Michigan’s Environment, Ensuring Michigan’s Future”

Revised August 24, 2006 by Pat Watson