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 July 20, 2005
Rogers City Stormwater Study
Those living and vacationing in Rogers City enjoy the quiet charm of the community and the beautiful Lake Huron shoreline. Miles of bicycle paths, beautiful parks, and one of Michigan’s best marinas are all found along the coastline. In order to keep Lake Huron clean, fresh and full of salmon, stormwater runoff from the city needs to be controlled more effectively.
As water from rain and snowmelt travels over impervious surfaces such as roads, driveways, parking lots and sidewalks, it washes pollutants into the storm drains. These pollutants include oils, grease, anti freeze, and other fluids from automobiles; sand and salt from road maintenance; pet waste, soap from washing cars, chemicals, fertilizers, and pesticides from residential and commercial areas; and a variety of litter and debris. The Rogers City stormwater system is similar to others in communities located along a river or lake, in that there is little or no treatment before pollutants are discharged into waterbodies.
Realizing the importance of the Lake Huron coastline, and all it offers the community, Mayor Beech Hall and City Manager John Bruning contacted Huron Pines RC&D for assistance in addressing stormwater runoff within the city limits. Together the city and Huron Pines RC&D developed and submitted a grant proposal to the Coastal Zone Management Program.
The Coastal Zone Management Program has awarded $5,100 to Huron Pines Resource Conservation & Development Area Council to conduct a stormwater study. Rogers City has provided local match of $5,000 to the project which will begin in March 2005.
The purpose of the stormwater study is to identify the existing nature of the stormwater system by mapping the storm drains and outlets, defining the drainage zones, estimate pollutant loading within each zone, and review the current stormwater guidelines. Once the initial survey is complete, a combination of low impact development, end-of-pipe treatments, and zoning improvements will be recommended.
Low impact development (LID) is a relatively new practice in northern Michigan . Instead of removing polluted runoff from site as quickly as possible, which has been the traditional stormwater management practice, LID promotes treating runoff onsite by replicating the natural movement of water, prior to development of the land. Runoff is directed to grassy depressions and vegetated areas commonly called rain gardens instead of directing runoff to storm drains. Rain gardens are constructed to filter pollutants, slow runoff, allow for infiltration of water into the soils, and can beautify the landscape. Rain gardens are planted with native vegetation and can be constructed in parking lots, along road right of ways, and adjacent to businesses and homes to capture runoff before reaching the storm drain. By re-creating these conditions where possible, and directing water to depression areas, runoff can be greatly reduced. In the long-term, this will translate into financial savings for the community, a nicer city, and less water pollution.
In some cases low impact development may not be sufficient to handle all of the polluted runoff. When this takes place end-of-pipe treatments are installed. Large catch basins and oil and grit separators can be placed near an outfall (where runoff discharges into the lake) and can remove up to 80 percent of the pollutants before releasing the treated waters into Lake Huron.
In addition to the stormwater study and recommendations is a component to p rovide information to the city’s residents on how they can prevent nonpoint source pollutants from entering the storm drains. Local volunteers will also be called upon to assist with applying decals that state: “No Dumping, Drains to Lake” on each of the storm drains.
Huron Pines Resource Conservation and Development Area Council is a non-profit resource organization. Established in 1972, Huron Pines RC&D specializes in bringing together diverse groups of partners to identify resource needs and implement projects that benefit natural resources and the local communities that depend upon them.
If you have any questions regarding the project please contact Lisha Ramsdell at Huron Pines RC&D via phone 989-348-9319 or email lisha@huronpines.org.
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