Schoolcraft County, in addition to sitting along the shores of Lake Michigan, is home to numerous inland lakes, rivers, and other waterbodies. With 20% of the world’s drinking water coming from the Great Lakes, we have an additional responsibility to care for our local water. Through our soil erosion permit program, aquatic invasive species program, recycling initiatives, and public education and outreach, the SCD is working to combat these and other water quality issues:
Runoff
In a perfect world, the water that goes down our storm drains would be pure rainwater or pristine snowmelt. More often than not though, this water picks up contaminates from roads, rooftops, parking lots, soil, and other areas of land. As a result, engine oil, gas, and antifreeze; chemicals from fertilizers and pesticides; sewage; and other forms of pollutants that get picked up during the water cycle end up in our lakes, rivers, and reservoirs.
This pollution comes with devastating effects. Toxic algae blooms can develop due to the excess nutrients from fertilizer runoff. Pathogens from sewage can find their way into drinking water and swimming areas. Oil, heavy metals, and chemicals pose a tremendous risk to the survival of aquatic life—plant, animal, and insect alike.
The good news is, you can do your part to keep our water clean by properly disposing of dangerous substances, maintaining your car to prevent leaks, limiting your use of pesticides, and limiting soil erosion on your land (see our soil erosion page to learn how we can help).
Runoff
In a perfect world, the water that goes down our storm drains would be pure rainwater or pristine snowmelt. More often than not though, this water picks up contaminates from roads, rooftops, parking lots, soil, and other areas of land. As a result, engine oil, gas, and antifreeze; chemicals from fertilizers and pesticides; sewage; and other forms of pollutants that get picked up during the water cycle end up in our lakes, rivers, and reservoirs.
This pollution comes with devastating effects. Toxic algae blooms can develop due to the excess nutrients from fertilizer runoff. Pathogens from sewage can find their way into drinking water and swimming areas. Oil, heavy metals, and chemicals pose a tremendous risk to the survival of aquatic life—plant, animal, and insect alike.
The good news is, you can do your part to keep our water clean by properly disposing of dangerous substances, maintaining your car to prevent leaks, limiting your use of pesticides, and limiting soil erosion on your land (see our soil erosion page to learn how we can help).
2011 algae outbreak in Lake Erie. Photo credit Peter Essick.
Microplastics
A whopping 11 million pounds of plastic—the equivalent of 100 Olympic-sized swimming pools—is dumped into Lake Michigan each year, and although studies on the plastic in other Upper Peninsula waterbodies are limited, similarly excessive plastic pollution isn’t limited to the Great Lakes. While having this much debris floating around in our water is concerning unto itself, a much bigger threat lies (literally) just beneath the surface: microplastics.
As the name suggests, microplastics are tiny plastic particles less than five millimeters in diameter. These particles can be either primary, such as the microbeads frequently used in cosmetics and skin cleansers, or secondary, developed as larger plastic waste gets broken down into smaller and smaller fragments.
Regardless of its origin, microplastic, like any form of plastic, takes thousands of years to decompose and poses numerous environmental threats during the duration of its life. Most noteworthy, microplastics are easily mistaken for food and consumed by fish and invertebrate. Among individuals, this can cause fatal internal abrasions. Among food chains, plastics can travel and accumulate, and isn’t confined to wildlife; according to a study by the World Wildlife Fund, the average person consumes five milligrams of microplastic—roughly a credit card worth—every week.
One of the best things you can do as an individual to mitigate this problem is limit your use of single-use plastics. Bringing your own reusable bags to grocery stores, going without a straw, buying in bulk rather than individually packaged items, and shopping in-person rather than online are all steps you can take to reduce your plastic footprint. You can also avoid buying personal care products that contain microbeads by checking the ingredients list for polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), and nylon.
Invasive species
As with any ecosystem, waterbodies need to maintain a delicate balance in order to stay healthy. Aquatic invasive species disrupt this balance, increasing turbidity (i.e., the murkiness of water), altering nutrient flows in the food web, rewiring energy flows, and fostering the growth of algae. Some researchers speculate that zebra and quagga mussels are behind both the botulism outbreaks in Lake Michigan that have killed thousands of birds and the toxic algae blooms on Lake Erie, and these are just two species.
You can do your part to help prevent the spread of invasive species. Inspect your boat and fishing gear for plants and animals as you leave a waterbody and remove anything you find. Drain your boat and equipment to further stop any microscopic organisms you’re not able to see. Drain livewells and containers holding catch, and be sure not to transfer any live fish away from the waterbody from which you caught it.
A whopping 11 million pounds of plastic—the equivalent of 100 Olympic-sized swimming pools—is dumped into Lake Michigan each year, and although studies on the plastic in other Upper Peninsula waterbodies are limited, similarly excessive plastic pollution isn’t limited to the Great Lakes. While having this much debris floating around in our water is concerning unto itself, a much bigger threat lies (literally) just beneath the surface: microplastics.
As the name suggests, microplastics are tiny plastic particles less than five millimeters in diameter. These particles can be either primary, such as the microbeads frequently used in cosmetics and skin cleansers, or secondary, developed as larger plastic waste gets broken down into smaller and smaller fragments.
Regardless of its origin, microplastic, like any form of plastic, takes thousands of years to decompose and poses numerous environmental threats during the duration of its life. Most noteworthy, microplastics are easily mistaken for food and consumed by fish and invertebrate. Among individuals, this can cause fatal internal abrasions. Among food chains, plastics can travel and accumulate, and isn’t confined to wildlife; according to a study by the World Wildlife Fund, the average person consumes five milligrams of microplastic—roughly a credit card worth—every week.
One of the best things you can do as an individual to mitigate this problem is limit your use of single-use plastics. Bringing your own reusable bags to grocery stores, going without a straw, buying in bulk rather than individually packaged items, and shopping in-person rather than online are all steps you can take to reduce your plastic footprint. You can also avoid buying personal care products that contain microbeads by checking the ingredients list for polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), and nylon.
Invasive species
As with any ecosystem, waterbodies need to maintain a delicate balance in order to stay healthy. Aquatic invasive species disrupt this balance, increasing turbidity (i.e., the murkiness of water), altering nutrient flows in the food web, rewiring energy flows, and fostering the growth of algae. Some researchers speculate that zebra and quagga mussels are behind both the botulism outbreaks in Lake Michigan that have killed thousands of birds and the toxic algae blooms on Lake Erie, and these are just two species.
You can do your part to help prevent the spread of invasive species. Inspect your boat and fishing gear for plants and animals as you leave a waterbody and remove anything you find. Drain your boat and equipment to further stop any microscopic organisms you’re not able to see. Drain livewells and containers holding catch, and be sure not to transfer any live fish away from the waterbody from which you caught it.