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Introduction
The Village of Roscommon, with a population of approximately 1200, is the County Seat of Roscommon County, located in the extreme north central part of the county. The village is nestled in a scenic area of sandy hills dotted with scrub pine and the pristine waters of the South Branch of the Au Sable River flow through town. If you’re a bird watcher, this town is the gateway to Kirtland’s Warbler country, just to the north. Roscommon is an ideal place to stay to enjoy the many recreational opportunities the area has to offer – canoeing, fishing, hunting, hiking and snowmobiling. Roscommon is home to the Firemen’s Memorial, commemorating the many life-saving deeds of Michigan’s Firefighters, as well as Higgins Lake, which National Geographic described years ago as the sixth most beautiful lake in the world.
Recognizing their reliance on the clean waters of the Au Sable and its tributaries, the City Manager and Village Council Members requested assistance from Huron Pines to study their current stormwater system and offer recommendations to reduce the amount of polluted runoff entering the river. Huron Pines applied to and received funding from the Village of Roscommon, Paul H. Young Chapter of Trout Unlimited and Michigan Fly Fishing Club to prepare the assessment. The focus of this study is the development of a stormwater management plan that will be used for future planning projects. In addition, findings of the assessment will provide the village with information necessary to pursue grant dollars necessary to reduce stormwater runoff.
Historically, as development occurred, stormwater runoff was removed from roads and sidewalks as quickly as possible, oftentimes directed to the nearest river, creek or wetland. As population grows along water resources, the amount of polluted runoff decreases water quality and increases the likelihood of flooding and erosion in nearby areas. In an effort to address current stormwater runoff and prevent future discharges from further degrading the water quality of the Au Sable and nearby creeks, Huron Pines, with the support of the Village of Roscommon, conducted this stormwater assessment addressing these specific components:
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Complete an inventory and map the existing storm drain system by determining the location of each catch basin, outfall, and drainage zone.
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Determine the current land use information in order to estimate the amount of impervious surface in the city and runoff flow rates.
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Estimate pollutant loading from stormwater runoff to the Au Sable and nearby tributaries.
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Recommend Best Management Practices (BMPs) suitable for the Village in order to reduce the amount of polluted runoff entering the Au Sable and nearby tributaries.
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Provide cost estimates for recommended BMPs.
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Present findings to the Village Council in a public format.
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Provide the community with a final report to assist with stormwater management and serve as a foundation for pursuing funding to implement BMPs.
Financial assistance for the project was provided, in part, by the Village of Roscommon, Paul H. Young Chapter of Trout Unlimited and the Michigan Fly Fishing Club. |
