HRWC Chem Flow Program

What grade did the Huron River earn in 2025?

C+

What were the grades of the various categories of the report card?

Water - B (good)

Recreation - B

Economy - C (moderate)

Ecosystem - C

Human Health - C

Infrastructure - C

What were the highest scoring subcategories of the report card?

household income, bird diversity, beach access, Nitrogen, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, sewer overflows

What were the lowest scoring subcategories of the report card?

very poor - cost of flooding, income equality, bacteria

poor - farmland, flooding, fish consumption, river economy

What are the most significant threats to the Huron River (as indicated by the report card)?

stormwater runoff, habitat loss, sediment and nutrient pollution, bacteria, chemical contaminants

OF COURSE CLIMATE CHANGE

What contaminants do we assess for water quality testing in the Chem Flow program?

Total Phosphorus

Total Suspended Solids

Pathogens/Bacteria (E. coli)

Dissolved Oxygen

Conductivity

pH

Temperature

What are the TMDL targets or acceptable ranges for each parameter?

Total Phosphorus - 0.03 mg/L

Total Suspended Solids - 80 mg/L (optimum is less than 25 mg/L, good is 25 to 80mg/L)

E. coli - 130 per 100mL for total body, 300 per 100mL for total body, 1000 per 100mL for partial body

Dissolved Oxygen - >5 mg/L (less than 2mg/L is hypoxic)

Conductivity - 100 to 800 µS/cm

pH - 7.5 to 8.5

Temperature - max temps range throughout the season (highest would be 85 in June, July, August)

Nitrate - 0.5 mg/L

Nitrite - 0.01 to 0.03 mg/L

What are the trends of Total Phosphorus in Washtenaw county?

the total phosphorus concentration increases as you travel upstream to downstream

but it has been steadily decreasing over time

What are the trends of TSS in Washtenaw county?

it has never increased above 80 mg/L over the course of monitoring history

What are the trends of E. coli in Washtenaw county?

as you travel from upstream to downstream, the E. coli concentration increases

there has been sampling averages above the full body contact and partial body contact in both upstream and downstream sites

What are the trends of Nitrogen in Washtenaw county?

in tributaries throughout agricultural lands, there is an increase in the concentration of nitrate that contribute to higher downstream concentrations

throughout the main stem of the Middle Huron River, nitrate values are lower than 1 mg/L

nitrite values in the main stem of the Huron are lower than laboratory detection levels

What are the conductivity trends in Washtenaw county?

upstream, the mean conductivity measure is 730 µS/cm

downstream, the mean conductivity measure is 825 µS/cm

sulfate inputs are much lower than the state regulated inputs

chloride inputs are high, but the data and history of monitoring is too short to identify further trends

What are the trends of DO in Washtenaw county?

DO measurements typically meet state standards

What are the trends of pH in Washtenaw county?

most values of tributaries fall between 7.5 and 8.3

more basic values (8.1 to 8.2) are medians of the main stem of the Huron at both upstream and downstream

What are the temperature trends in Washtenaw county?

water temperatures have a normal range that supports freshwater aquatic life

April (5 to 10 degrees Celsius) to summer (between 20 to 30 degrees Celsius)

What are the tributaries we assess in Washtenaw county?

Mill, Boyden, Honey, Allen, Traver, Millers, Malletts, Fleming, and Swift Run creeks

What is the LU/LC of the tributaries in Washtenaw county?

mainly agricultural - Mill, Boyden, Fleming

agricultural/residential - Honey, Traver

urban/residential - Allen, Millers, Malletts, Swift Run

What are the most impaired tributaries for Phosphorus in Washtenaw county?

Mill, Mallets, Swift Run, Fleming

What are the most impaired tributaries for bacteria in Washtenaw county?

Mill, Millers, Swift Run, Malletts, Traver

What are the most impaired sites for conductivity/chloride in Washtenaw county?

Millers, Malletts, Swift Run

Allen, Honey, Traver, and Fleming all have elevated chloride as well

What is the most impaired stream for DO in Washtenaw county?

Swift Run (flashy flows with hot and dry periods lead to major decline in DO)

What is the most impaired tributaries for pH in Washtenaw county?

Swift Run (9.05 in 2017), Malletts (9.06 in 2021)

What tributaries do we assess in Wayne county?

Detroit River tribs: Frank & Poet, Brownstown, Blakely, Ecorse Creek and Reeck Drain

Huron River tribs: Woods, Silver, Smith

What are the trends of Total Phosphorus in Wayne county?

all TP concentrations are higher than target levels

however, there has been declining phosphorus levels throughout monitoring history

What are the trends of TSS in Wayne county?

all sites have lower mean and median values than the threshold set

What are the trends of bacteria in Wayne county?

the means and medians of the tributaries regularly meet one standard, but are often at or above total body contact limits

they regularly exceed state standards for recreation

What are the trends of conductivity in Wayne county?

the upstream site on the main stem has a median of 850 µS/cm (25 µS/cm higher than standard)

the Ecorse Creek and Combined Downriver watersheds has even higher medians with 900-1000 µS/cm

What are the trends of DO in Wayne county?

upstream site in the main stem has adequate DO levels

the downriver watersheds fluctuate DO by tributary with many creeks being impaired (Brownstown (regularly hypoxic), Frank & Poet, Blakely)

What are the trends of pH in Wayne county?

throughout all areas of the county, the pH ranges from 7.6 to 8.2

What are the trends of temperature in Wayne county?

throughout all areas and tributaries, the temperature conditions are supportive of aquatic life

What are the results of benthic macroinvertebrate (BMI) surveys?

additional work is needed to restore the benthic macroinvertebrate community in the Downriver area

What are the tributaries we assess in Wayne county?

Woods, Silver, Smith, N. Ecorse, S. Ecorse, Frank & Poet, Blakely, and Brownstown creeks

What is the LU/LC of the tributaries in Wayne county?

agricultural/natural - Woods

agricultural/residential - Silver, Smith

urban/residential - N. Ecorse, S. Ecorse, Frank & Poet, Blakely, Brownstown (ALL FLOW INTO DETROIT RIVER)

What are the most impaired tributaries for Total Phosphorus in Wayne county?

N. Ecorse, S. Ecorse, Silver

What are the most impaired tributaries for bacteria in Wayne county?

S. Ecorse, Brownstown, N. Ecorse, Silver, Blakely, Smith

What are the most impaired tributaries for conductivity in Wayne county?

ALL besides Woods creek!

the urban sites in the downriver area (branches of Ecorse creek) have the highest readings

What are the most impaired streams for DO in Wayne county?

All but Woods creek fall below the 5 mg/L that is recommended at some point in the season

Brownstown is by far the worst, followed by N. Ecorse

What are the trends of Total Phosphorus in Livingston county?

majority of sites met target values with two tributaries exceeding the value

What are the trends of bacteria in Livingston county?

tributaries generally meet state standards, but on occasion, the bacteria levels will increase over the partial body contact standard (after rain or big flow events)

What are the trends of TSS in Livingston county?

well below the targets created by the state

What are the trends of DO in Livingston county?

quality levels that fluctuate with the cycles and seasons

What are the trends of conductivity in Livingston county?

majority of the sites frequently exceed the target of 800 µS/cm

What are the trends of temperature in Livingston county?

follow seasonal patterns and cycles

What are the trends of pH in Livingston county?

follows acceptable ranges

What are the tributaries/sites we assess in Livingston county?

Horseshoe, Davis, Woodruff, and South Ore

Huron River (at Kensington Rd) and Huron River (at Hamburg Rd)

What is the LU/LC for the tributaries in Livingston county?

agricultural/natural - Horseshoe

agricultural/residential - Davis, Woodruff

residential - South Ore

What are the most impaired sites for Total Phosphorus in Livingston county?

in the main stem, Phosphorus levels are lower than the target levels

for tributaries, Horseshoe, South Ore, and Woodruff

What are the most impaired sites for bacteria in Livingston county?

Woodruff

What are the most impaired sites for conductivity in Livingston county?

ALL except South Ore