Watershed Moments. Kids Creek Gets Treatment at Munson. May 2013

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1 Watershed Moments May 2013 Kids Creek Gets Treatment at Munson Kids Creek isn t so healthy, so the Watershed Center and Munson Medical Center are treating it. Kids Creek is on Michigan s list of impaired waters due to being overloaded with sediments and high water flows. A section of Kids Creek running through Munson's north campus will be restored by replacing 900 feet of underground culverts and channelized ditches with a natural, above-ground meandering channel. This is called daylighting the creek. The new creek section will cross Beaumont Avenue and then meander between Beaumont Avenue and the adjacent alley before crossing Sixth Street to meet the existing channel. The new stream channel will: eliminate 73,000 square feet of impervious area establish 27,000 square feet of floodplain create a buffer between the hospital campus and surrounding neighborhoods. The buffer along the creek will be planted with attractive flowers and shrubs that will absorb runoff and provide a healing garden for Munson patients and their loved ones. continued on page 2 Please help protect our Up North waters for Future Generations~gtbay.org

2 Kids Creek Gets Treatment at Munson continued from page 1 Funding from the US EPA s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative for this project is $250,000. Munson is providing at least $500,000 in matching funds. Consumers Energy Foundation and the Great Lakes Fisheries Trust are also providing funding. Rotary Charities of Traverse City is also providing fundraising technical assistance as part of its $500,000 challenge grant for Munson s Cancer Center. The project coincides with preparations for constructing a new Cancer Center on the northern part of Munson s campus, anticipated to break ground in Residents should expect road closures on Sixth Street and Beaumont Avenue during construction. Work on the daylighting project should be completed by October. Page 1, clockwise from top left: Kids Creek runs mostly underground near Sixth and Beaumont on the Munson campus. Plans illustrate the stream s new above-ground meandering channel. Logs are put into place to define streambanks. Workers create the new stream bed. This page, clockwise from top left: Workers place root wads to create the new streambank, which prevent erosion and provide fish habitat. Rocks and logs shape the new streambed. Workers install root wads along the sides of the new meandering stream channel. Executive Director Andy Knott and Program Director Sarah U Ren chat about the project with one of the crews. Photos by Denise Baker. 2 gtbay.org Please help protect our Up North waters for future generations~gtbay.org

3 Suttons Bay Gets Rain Garden Makeover Suttons Bay is about to get cleaner~and greener! Twelve rain gardens will be installed this summer to keep water safe for swimmers. Three revamped drain systems will stop outflow from storm drain outlets, eliminating bacteria at the Village s two heavily used swimming beaches. By managing runoff from the three largest storm drains in Suttons Bay, we hope to drastically decrease public health risks at local beaches associated with runoff, says Sarah U Ren, Program Director. Other green infrastructure techniques being used are underground trenches. These and rain gardens treat runoff by natural absorption rather than directly discharging it to surface water. Underground processes naturally clean runoff. Rain gardens will be planted with attractive native plants that absorb runoff pollutants. Rain gardens will be near: Broadway and St. Mary s St. Joseph and Madison St. Joseph and Adams Runoff will enter rain gardens and naturally filter in the ground. Any excess water will spill over risers and flow into the storm system inlet, making its way to underground filtration trenches. Underground trenches will be located under sections of Front Street, and in alleys between Broadway and Jefferson streets. There will be 3,612 feet of underground trenches. That s nearly three-fourths of a mile! This project is being integrated with other park, TART trail and road improvements. Construction begins in early summer and should conclude by November. The US EPA s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is providing $987,000 in grant funding. Boardman River Running Free All construction work is now complete at Brown Bridge dam. The Boardman is running free along 1.5 miles of the former impoundment the for the first time since Members of the Boardman Dams Implementation Team and volunteers are seeding and planting native plants and trees in newly exposed bottomlands. This is critical to keep streambanks stable, reduce erosion of sediments, and restore terrestrial habitat. The Implementation Team is also planning and fundraising for the next phase of the river restoration project: removing the Boardman dam. Work also continues on a new Boardman River Watershed Prosperity Plan. This plan will integrate environmental, economic and social goals and objectives to ensure the long-term stewardship of the watershed for future generations. Rotary volunteers prepare the soil for tree planting to restore bottomlands of the former Brown Bridge pond. Photo by John Noonan, Rotary of Traverse City. 3 gtbay.org

4 Reducing E. Coli at East Bay Park All that construction you might see at East Bay Park will reduce E. Coli levels to keep water safe for swimmers this summer. The ultimate goal is to remove East Bay Park from Michigan s Impaired Waters list, says Sarah U Ren, Program Director. East Bay is on the state s Impaired Waters list due to high E. Coli levels. Workers are installing three systems; each has an oil and grit separator, sediment filter and antibacterial filter. Runoff first reaches the oil and grit separator from the storm drain system. Swirling causes heavy dirt and grit to fall to the bottom, while lighter items such as oil, grease and trash float on top. Water then flows to the sediment filter. It s a series of three chambers that further settle out sediment and dirt. There is an additional filter between the second and third chambers that screens out floating materials such as cigarette butts and pine needles. Then water flows to the antibacterial filter. There are filters inside the black tubes that carry a positive charge. Stiff fibers puncture E. Coli bacteria cells, then the electric charge kills the cells. Since the cell is dead, the charge doesn t get transferred, so the filter is ready to zap the next E. Coli cell it contacts. Water in the filter is not electrified; this happens on a microscropic level. Cleaned water then flows to a basin before it reaches Grand Traverse Bay. The Watershed Center is partnering with the City of Traverse City on this project. The Watershed Center received a $768,000 grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. 4 gtbay.org Top left: The antibacterial filter will kill E. Coli. Top right: Plans detail the new filtering system. Center left: Old storm drain pipes must be removed to make way for new ones. Center: Up close and personal with the oil and grit separator. Center right: The sediment filter. Bottom left: Oil and grit separator in the foreground, then the sediment filter, antibacterial filter and final catch basin. Bottom center: Cleaned water will flow to East Bay from the catch basin. Bottom right: Lattice work is a safety precaution to deter children. Photos by Denise Baker. gtbay.org 5

5 Thank You Adopt-A-Stream Sponsors! Lawn Care to Keep our Waters Clean Here are some easy lawn care tips to help protect our Up North water quality: If you use fertilizer, choose one with no phosphorus. The middle number should be 0. Most Michigan lawns don t need phosphorus. Phosphorus washes to our waterways and causes algae growth. Leave grass clippings on the lawn to retain moisture and provide vital nutrients for the soil. Allow grass height to be up to three inches. This allows greener, healthier growth. Taller grass crowds out weeds. If you live on a lake or stream, leave natural vegetation along the shoreline. Trees, shrubs and flowers filter pollutants and reduce erosion. Natural vegetation costs 48 percent less to maintain than traditional landscaping! 6 gtbay.org Glenn Wolff Plant a greenbelt garden between your lawn and the water to complement naturally growing plants. Use native plants, which have longer roots to absorb more runoff and pollutants. They also reduce erosion and require little if any fertilizers, pesticides and upkeep. Some varieties include Purple Coneflower, Black- Eyed Susan, Dwarf Lilac and River Birch.

6 Thank You Adopt-A-Stream Teams! Our Adopt-A-Stream teams collected aquatic insects to assess stream health. Thank you Stream Teams! Acme Creek~Grand Traverse Resort and Spa Baker Creek~Tracey Coe and Hazelnut Kids Beitner Creek~Wildlife & Wetland Solutions Bissell-Williamsburg Creek~John and Kate White family Carpenter Creek~Boardman Fly Tiers, sponsored by Oryana Cedar-Hines Creek~Youngflesh Family, sponsored by Joan Bonney s Color of Water Cedar River~Antrim Conservation District Cold Creek~Three Lakes Association Name Address City, State, ZIP YES! I want to protect our Up North water quality~and quality of life! Here s my gift of: $35 $50 $100 $250 $500 $1,000 $2,500 $5,000 Other $ Your donation is tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Phone Please make your check payable to: Watershed Center, S. West Bay Shore Dr., Traverse City, MI Or, charge your Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express number: Finch Creek~Three Lakes Association Jack s Creek~Boy Scout Troop 34, sponsored by David and Paula Kelley Jackson Creek~Marcie Timmins and Woodland School Kids Creek Upper~TC Noon Rotary Water Committee Kids Creek Lower~Emily and Ben Edwards, sponsored by Dr. Katherine Roth Miller Creek~Blue Water Transportation Northport Creek~Northport Sixth Grade, sponsored by Village of Northport Parker Creek~Traverse Bay Sunrise Rotary Water Studies Committee Rapid River Team 2~Fields Family Signature Expiration date W Thank you! Rapid River Team 3~Lawicki Family Rapid River Team 4~Dale Claudepierre, sponsored by Elk-Skegemog Lakes Association Rapid River Team 5~Thom Yocum, sponsored by Elk-Skegemog Lake Association Rapid River Team 6~Bob Kingon, sponsored by Elk-Skegemog Lakes Association Shanty Creek~Three Lakes Association Twenty-Two Creek~Boardman Fly Tiers, sponsored by Oryana Water Wheel Park~Leslie Etienne and Scott Wilson We all want Grand Traverse Bay and its watershed to brim with pristine water quality so that we may reap a high quality of life. When we tend to estate planning, we can give the gift of high water quality to future generations. Please join our Grand Traverse Bay Legacy Society. Members leave a gift to the Watershed Center in their estate plans. Anyone can make a gift of any amount. Bequests are the most common form of gift. Please contact Advancement Director Denise Baker at 231~935~1514 or dbaker@gtbay.org. Yuba Creek~Virginia Tegel, sponsored by Grand Traverse Organic Landscapes gtbay.org 7

7 The Watershed Center advocates for clean water in Grand Traverse Bay and acts to protect and preserve the Bay s watershed. NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID TRAVERSE CITY, MI PERMIT # S. West Bay Shore Drive Traverse City, MI T ~ F Andy Knott ~ Executive Director Sarah U Ren ~ Program Director John Nelson ~ GRAND TRAVERSE BAYKEEPER Denise Baker ~ Advancement Director Maureen McManus ~ Program Associate Ellen Kohler ~ Policy Specialist Deb Marois ~ Bookkeeper This Nonpoint Source Pollution Control project has been funded wholly through the Michigan Nonpoint Source Program by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under assistance agreement to the Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay for the Grand Traverse Bay Watershed Stormwater and Restoration Initiative project. The contents of the document do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the EPA, nor does the mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. Northport Gets New Storm Drain Say goodbye to the old Smith Avenue storm drain outlet, and say hello to cleaner water! The old storm drain outlet was too small to handle the volume of runoff flowing to it, and often blew its top during rainstorms. This eroded sand into a coastal wetlands area. The old drain will be replaced with a tiered system of three sediment basins. This will more effectively capture runoff volume, prevent erosion and improve water quality. Construction is scheduled for July. Funding is provided by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.