LANSING — Michigan leaders Tuesday announced formation of a unique new coalition working to improve water quality in the Western Lake Erie Basin.
The Michigan Cleaner Lake Erie through Action and Research (MI CLEAR) Partnership includes farmers, agricultural and environmental leaders, universities, conservationists, landscape professionals, energy leaders, tourism and economic development interests, and more. Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) Director Jamie Clover Adams said she was encouraged to call the diverse membership to the table as a new way to tackle the ongoing water quality challenges affecting the basin.
“Our mission is to improve the water quality of the Western Lake Erie Basin through open discussion among regional leaders that brings a coordinated perspective to existing efforts,” Clover Adams said. “We will drive support for research that builds understanding of the science around water quality issues, and promote actions that bring long-term, meaningful change.”
The MDARD Director said many members of this group already met once in August.
“At that meeting, we quickly realized that many groups, organizations, universities and agencies are doing something to advance some aspect of the situation, and that if we could bring as many of the stakeholders as possible to a single table, we can not only understand the changing chemistry of the lake more quickly, but we also will be able to move faster on thoughtful recommendations for improving the situation.”
She added the MI CLEAR Partnership will promote awareness of science and research-based efforts aimed at improving the health of Lake Erie, and provide quantifiable metrics and unbiased information about Michigan’s efforts to preserve and protect the WLEB’s waters.
In addition to MDARD, other members of the MI CLEAR Partnership:
- Michigan Farm Bureau
- University of Michigan Water Center, Graham Sustainability Institute
- Ducks Unlimited
- Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)
- The Nature Conservancy – Michigan Chapter
- Monroe County Drain Commission
- Michigan Agribusiness Association (MABA)
- DTE Energy
- Michigan Nursery and Landscape Association
- Michigan Chamber of Commerce
- American WaterWorks – Michigan Chapter
- Michigan State University Extension Institute of Water Research and Technology
- Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation
“The present WLEB landscape is highly active, so this partnership will help improve how we share information and scientific findings, which will help us all find solutions to harmful algae blooms,” said Scott Piggott, Chief Operating Officer, Michigan Farm Bureau. “The MI CLEAR partnership is designed to bring nontraditional groups together, give everyone a voice to build shared understanding, and offer everyone a stake in shared success. The goal is to develop a better picture of how algae blooms are fueled, and identify what near and long-term steps Michigan stakeholders could support for promoting water quality improvements.”
Potential factors include zebra mussels and other invasive species that have led to clearer water, allowing sunlight to penetrate deeper and increasing algae growth; larger rainfall events happening more reliably each year, which push stormwater and large amounts of untreated sewage into the WLEB; geography (nutrient-rich water flows into Lake Erie from many states and Canada); municipal sewer inputs; industrial pollution; faulty septic systems; lawn applications of fertilizers in residential neighborhoods and on golf courses; farm manure and fertilizer runoff; extreme weather patterns in recent years, and more.
“The Western Lake Erie Basin has lost ninety percent of its historical wetlands to human development,” said Ducks Unlimited Public Affairs Coordinator Chris Sebastian. “Those wetlands are vital to water quality for people and wildlife. This problem began decades ago, and addressing it requires significant time and work before we start to see algae reductions. As members of the MI CLEAR Partnership, we look forward to sharing the work our organization has done in the region into the broader ‘knowledge map’ the group is developing, as well as being part of a group of regional leaders who plan to push thoughtful, long-term change proposals that will lead to cleaner, healthier waters in Western Lake Erie.”
Jennifer G. Read, Ph.D., Director of the University of Michigan Water Center, said current studies range from the edge of farm fields to understanding what happens in the open lake, and researchers are piecing together a complex picture of land use, historic inputs to the basin, the impact of climate change, and more.
“The research community continues to study the causes of harmful algal blooms, and how changes in the lake chemistry, weather patterns and land use all contribute to water conditions,” said Read. “There’s no doubt that nutrient loading is the primary issue; however, other factors play important, synergistic roles and it’s important to understand where and how they have an impact. Things such as the role of climate change, which is bringing more rain, at the worst time in many cases, are a challenge we’ll need to figure out how to address. And much of the current research is looking at the interplay of these issues.”
— Michigan Department of Agriculture
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