RRWC

A. Statement of water quality concerns/issues

The River Raisin watershed covers roughly 1,072 square miles and contains approximately 429 lakes and ponds, more than 3,000 miles of man-made drainage systems, and 22 mainstem dams and 38 tributary dams. Located in southeast Michigan, the River Raisin flows through northeast Hillsdale County, southeast Jackson County, southwest Washtenaw County, eastern Lenawee County, northern Fulton County in Ohio and mid-Monroe County before emptying into Lake Erie.

Several areas in the River Raisin have been identified as having regional significance. The mainstem of the river above Adrian has some of the richest mussel beds in the state of Michigan. Twenty-one species of mussels have been identified along with eighty species of fish----most of the original fishery. There are also several high quality, mesic hardwood forests, riparian and floodplain forests, prairie fens and remnant oak barrens in the upper watershed that support rare species such as the eastern massassauga rattlesnake, Blanchard’s cricket frog, Indiana Bat and spotted turtle.

The lower 2.6 miles of the River Raisin has been identified by the International Joint Commission as one of Michigan’s fourteen Areas of Concern (AOC) due to PCB and heavy metal contamination of fish and sediments. The Remedial Action Plan was submitted in 1987 and implementation activities, including sediment dredging and remediation, have been on-going since then. In addition, the Detroit Edison Monroe Power Plant at the mouth of the River Raisin remains a significant obstacle for fish migration, typically using the entire river’s flow as cooling water.

In 2000, agriculture accounted for 65% of the watershed’s land use; urbanized areas represented 11%, wetlands 8% and forested and grassland areas 7% each. There are 41 NPDES point-source dischargers and 13 public water supply systems. During low flow periods most, if not all of the river and its tributary flow can be removed for consumptive uses. Some urbanizing areas are experiencing explosive growth pressures. Recently, massive 1,000+ unit single-family housing developments have been proposed for the Milan and Saline areas. These watershed pressures have created sediment, nutrient, pesticide, pathogen and heavy metals loads, flow instability and habitat impairments. But one of, “…the greatest impediment[s] to beneficial change in the River Raisin is the poor public image of the river and its tributaries,” (MDNR, 1998).

Currently there are 12 separate 303D water-quality impaired reaches and lakes along the Raisin River and its tributaries. Four reaches have TMDLs for untreated sewage discharge, pathogens, and PCBs. Other water quality impairments include pesticides, metals and turbidity. Fish consumption advisories due to PCBs have also been issued for three locations on the river.

Efforts to improve the watershed and the river have been gaining momentum. Recent notable improvement activities in the watershed have included:

B. Project goals and objectives

The overall goal of this project is to create a “living” document that captures the spirit of current improvement efforts, reaches out to the broadest coalition possible, and provides ideas, milestones and opportunities to restore and protect water quality in the River Raisin and achieve the Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs).

The planning effort will engage a broad and diverse group of stakeholders over a two-year period. Watershed advocacy has now matured to the point that the watershed is clearly poised to take this next step. During this planning effort the momentum of the group’s collective resources, ideas, and energy will be used to attract new stakeholders. The River Raisin watershed Project Team will try implementing improvement activities as part of the planning process. Field trips, assessment training, and stream evaluations will get volunteers to stand knee deep in water, sifting river sediment through their fingers.

Plan development will be led by a stakeholder advisory group and technical review subcommittee comprised of the major stakeholders, including federal, state, county and local government organizations, non-profit groups, development interests, citizen watershed representatives and technical experts. The plan will focus on achieving five main objectives:

Better stakeholder data sharing will be achieved by improving the centralized “clearinghouse” of data and resources at the River Raisin Watershed Council. As part of the project, an expandable and exportable GIS-based watershed database will be built. The database will include all previous significant data-gathering efforts, as well as the data and results of the analyses developed during this project. Coordination will be enhanced with the use of an updated River Raisin watershed website that includes a watershed directory and interactive calendar of activities.

The steering committee, as well as communities, organizations and the public will be asked to develop a vision of the future watershed and as well as identify watershed problems, goals and improvement ideas. Existing information and proposed activities will be collated and related spatially and temporally with the project GIS and quantitative tools. The quantitative tools will include hydrologic, hydraulic and water quality models of the mainstem and main tributaries. A gap analysis will identify critical missing data. The technical review subcommittee will provide scientific guidance and quality assurance oversight.

The water quality evaluation will include synoptic water quality and flow surveys to reflect relative conditions by subwatershed and systematically identify problem areas. Water quality data will also be gathered in TMDL reaches where new remediation activities are being implemented. Consumptive use data will also be compiled and related to critical water quality issues (such as NPDES discharges during low flows). The assessment will include identification of priority improvement activities and areas, including conservation and restoration opportunities, ordinances, BMP and recreational opportunities.

The aims of improving the public education and involvement process are to 1) build a broader and more deeply educated stakeholder base 2) improve the river’s image 3) foster stewardship and 4) build a stronger, more extensive monitoring program. More importantly, this educated, energized group will provide a stronger political constituency to influence land use, conservation and restoration policies.

Improvement of the public education and involvement process will be accomplished by creating subwatershed groups; developing new educational materials and partnerships, and emphasizing hands-on river projects. Creation of the subwatershed groups will be opportunistic as the steering committee finds and develops local leaders for each subwatershed. This effort will benefit from the expansion of the Adopt-A-Stream Program initiated as part of this project. The program’s expansion will include a Steward Education Program and a move to include volunteers of all ages. More primary and secondary school partnerships will be pursued. The RRWC will work with the River Raisin Stewardship Cluster to develop additional field work days.

The RRWMP will address all the elements of the MDEQ CMI and USEPA-required elements for a WMP. These are a broad range of project elements that will make the plan eligible for funding both from the state of Michigan and the federal government.

The RRWMP will create a framework of realistic implementation activities and measurable goals. A long-term monitoring plan along with interim measurable milestones will be created to judge improvement success. The plan will use adaptive management techniques to provide flexibility for changing the implementation activities and, if necessary, changing the goals themselves. The River Raisin communities will also consider creation of a Cooperative Agreement, in the same manner as the Middle Huron Initiative, to cooperatively and voluntarily address TMDLs.

The plan will create a platform that enjoys broad consensus and provides a scientific basis for allocating finite resources throughout the watershed to improve river conditions. The plan will also create a process for community self-evaluation to develop stronger and more sensitive planning and regulatory approaches towards watershed development.

The lead organization for the RR WMP will be the River Raisin Watershed Council. The RRWC is dedicated to inspiring behaviors that promote stewardship to protect, preserve and enhance the River Raisin Watershed basin; its wetlands, lakes and tributaries for all living creatures through classroom and public education, water quality monitoring, river clean ups and encourage recreation on the river. The RRWC's accomplishments include water quality monitoring, a new Adopt-A-Stream program, public education and outreach, and influencing change for the protection and preservation of our river and its tributaries. A summary of grant-funded watershed activities for the RRWC and project partners can be found in Table 1 below.

The RRWC will subcontract with 1) the Lenawee Soil Conservation District (led by Kathlene Kurowicki) for education program assistance; 2) the University of Michigan (led by Dr. David Allan) for natural resource assessments and technical evaluation and with 3) Ayres, Lewis, Norris & May, Inc. for plan coordination, quantitative assessments and technical assistance.

To date, thirty partners have stepped forward to assist in plan development, technical review, donate services and supplies and/or share data. Table 2 below defines the partners who have committed and their respective roles. Most of the project partners will be volunteer members of the Stakeholder Advisory Group an/or the Technical Advisory Subcommittee. We expect the partner list to continue to grow.

Important partnerships and existing data sources that deserve more attention include:

In addition, the MDEQ Water Bureau is currently performing water quality analysis to examine the potential impacts of the use of agriculture buffer programs in the watershed. At least four Master’s level research projects will be developed in conjunction with this project. Three UM Masters students, working with Dr.s Allan and Donna Erickson at UM, Dr. Tom Johengen with the Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Research with NOAA, and one Eastern Michigan University geography graduate student, will be performing water quality and habitat assessments and examining legal, policy and educational improvement opportunities.

The City of Monroe has been awarded a $25,000 MDEQ Coastal Management Program grant for development of a City of Monroe Pilot Watershed Improvement project that will begin this month and conclude in October 2005. The objectives of the project include field assessment of all open waterways within Monroe for habitat and water quality problems and identification of potential BMP retrofit and natural resource conservation and restoration opportunities.

During the planning process, two important federal agricultural water quality programs will be targeting the River Raisin watershed. These two programs include the Conservation Security Program (CSP) and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Both the CSP and CRP originate with the USDA and are voluntary conservation programs that provide funding for conserving, enhancing or restoring natural resources on private agricultural land. The WMP project partners hope to facilitate information sharing (like the Somerset “Farm Team”) between the planning process and the CSP and CRP.

By the time of plan completion, the steering and technical review committee will have grown in size and influence. The planning effort will create a coordinated and focused core group with a clear agenda, including adaptive management techniques based on a long-term monitoring plan. In addition, subwatershed planning efforts will also be underway. As part of the planning effort the steering committee will establish permanent Environmental, Water Quality and Public Education/Involvement Tasks Forces to evaluate, recommend and assist with implementation of the RRWMP. The River Raisin Cooperative Agreement, if signed, will provide a strong public endorsement of the goals of the plan. In addition, the group will seek to develop creative public-private partnerships and sponsorships to develop additional funding sources for implementation activities.

A strong project emphasis will be placed on advocating and creating increased recreational opportunities on and along the river. Trail, boat and fishing access in many areas of the river are poor. Despite some good fisheries, fishing pressures on the river are low. Increasing visibility, interaction and understanding of the river and its relationship to people will be the most essential step to creating a sustainable plan. The River Raisin Assessment (MDNR, 1998) noted that, “An improved public image of the river would serve to foster an ethic of public stewardship that would act to drive all other beneficial changes.”

For the WMP there will be several levels and instruments for accessing the success of the program. On the public side, there will be a before and after attitudes survey sent out to selected residents in the watershed to assess the impact of the public education/public involvement component of this project. In addition, as part of this project, a long-term plan for assessing public attitudes will be developed.

For water quality and hydrology, a long-term evaluation plan will be prepared (See Work Plan for details). The plan will include the macroinvertebrate surveys, as well as hydrologic and water quality indicators. There are several existing, long-term water quality and flow monitoring sites in the watershed. As part of this project a set of at least 14 coincident hydrologic, water quality and macorinvertebrate sites will be established. The long-term monitoring plan will rely on these sites to track long-term water quality and hydrology trends. A focused evaluation that includes water quality and hydrology data collection at additional sites on a five-year cycle will also be used to help track long-term trends.

This is a Watershed Management Plan for the River Raisin Watershed in southeast Michigan. The River Raisin Watershed contains approximately 1,070 square miles of land in southeastern Michigan and a small portion of northwestern Ohio. Land use in the watershed is primarily agricultural (approximately 65% in 2000). Agricultural and urban non-point source pollution is causing excess erosion and silt-build up in the watershed. In addition, the watershed is beginning to experience extreme development pressures. Growth must be planned and developed in a manner that promotes a healthy economy and a healthy environment. The goals of this plan are to: