The Department of Environmental Quality and the Great Lakes Commission announced today that six organizations have been chosen to receive volunteer water quality monitoring grants under the Michigan Clean Water Corps (MiCorps) Program.

The MiCorps Program was established by Governor Jennifer M. Granholm to involve and assist the state's volunteer water quality organizations with water quality assessments, protection, and stewardship of Michigan's lakes and rivers. These volunteer dependent monitoring groups further expand the existing network of committed citizens who are working hard to monitor water quality in Michigan.

The six organizations sharing nearly $50,000 in grant funds to support their volunteer monitoring work beginning in 2009 are:

Full grants:

- Jackson County Conservation District - Monitoring is to involve 16 sites in the Upper Grand River and tributaries including Cahaogen Creek, Huntoon Creek, Portage River, and Sandstone Creek.

- Superior Watershed Partnership - Six sites are to be monitored within the Millecoquins River Watershed.

- Muskegon County Conservation District - Monitoring is to involve eight sites within the Duck Creek Watershed.

- Clinton River Watershed Council - Three additional sites within the North Branch Clinton River watershed will be monitored.

Start-up grants:

- Michigan Council of Trout Unlimited/Kalamazoo Valley Chapter - Initially six sites within the Spring Brook and Dickinson Creek watersheds will be monitored along with the development of a more extensive monitoring plan that can potentially receive full funding in the near future.

- Branch County Conservation District - The grant funding will be used to develop a Coldwater River Watershed volunteer-based monitoring plan that can potentially receive full funding in the near future.

The grants, awarded through the DEQ's MiCorps Volunteer Stream Monitoring Program, provide training and support for the volunteers to help them collect quality data on the state's water resources. The data is used to support local activities and the DEQ's efforts to protect and manage the state's water resources.

The DEQ established the Volunteer Stream Monitoring Program in 1998 and contracted with the GLC to administer it as part of the MiCorps in the fall of 2004. Through this year, nearly $500,000 in monitoring grants has been awarded for volunteer stream monitoring.

For additional information, visit the MiCorps Web site at www.micorps.net or contact Paul Steen of the Huron River Watershed Council at 734-769-5123, Ext. 14 or by e-mail at psteen@hrwc.org or Jack Wuycheck of the DEQ at 517-335-4195 or by e-mail at wuycheckj@michigan.gov. 

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 May 18, 2009 by Pat Watson