Final Project Report
Citizens Guide
Conceptual Model
Spring Lake Watershed Atlas
Grant Resources

 
Final Project Report:

The Rein in the Runoff Final Project Report is currently going through peer review. The internal peer review will be done by the Rein in the Runoff project team and other researchers at AWRI. One of the primary goals of this review is to assess the levels of uncertainty associated with the information provided in the Integrated Assessment. In addition, an external peer review will be conducted by researchers selected by Michigan Sea Grant. These reviewers will be anonymous to the members of the Rein in the Runoff project team.

We anticipate a public kick-off of the Rein in the Runoff Final Project Report later in 2009.

Citizens Guide

The Rein in the Runoff Citizens Guide will be a condensed version of the final project report. It also will be made available later in 2009.

Conceptual Model:

Managing stormwater runoff is one of the most vexing water resource problems facing urban regions. Despite incomplete understanding and imperfect information, it is essential that resource agencies, institutions, and municipalities continue to move forward to resolve environmental challenges. One mechanism to assist this process is the development of conceptual ecological models. These models provide a framework for thinking about how natural systems function, how they have been altered by human-induced stressors, and how they can be managed. This provides planners, resource managers, and elected officials with information to help them focus on the best design and assessment strategy (Ogden et al. 2005).

Our conceptual ecological model for stormwater runoff begins with the key ecosystem drivers affecting stormwater: land use change results in more impervious surface, management activities (or lack thereof) result in increased nonpoint source pollution, and climate change affects hydrology. Below the drivers are the stressors to the ecosystem. The influence of hydrology on stormwater impacts is pervasive, as this driver connects to all stressors (cf. Walsh et al. 2005). The stressors impact ecological structure and function, which can also be viewed as potential indicators of stress. Ultimately, society determines what values it places on environmental resources and ecosystem services; this model proposes three possible values (fish and aquatic fauna, water quality, and native vegetation), although depending on the ecosystem and the stakeholders, a very different set of societal values may emerge, which in turn may affect the structure of the conceptual model.

Spring Lake Watershed Atlas:

The project team developed a variety of watershed maps to explain and help visualize the Rein in the Runoff project.  In addition, the maps describe the scope, current watershed conditions, and expected and potential future outcomes associated with current stormwater management practices, and the results of this Integrated Assessment. This map atlas also includes the results of the Spring Lake Shoreline Assessment project, which was funded by the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation to complement the Rein in the Runoff Project, and the preliminary results of the functional wetlands assessment for the Spring Lake Watershed, which is part of a landscape level functional assessment of the wetlands in the Lower Grand River Watershed, funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5.

The Rein in the Runoff Spring Lake Watershed Atlas is available here for download. Full-sized, hard-copies of the atlas will be available with copies of the full project report for on-site review at AWRI, Spring Lake Township, the Village of Spring Lake, and the City of Ferrysburg. A reference copy and circulation copy will be provided to the Spring Lake Library, 123 East Exchange Street, Spring Lake, MI 49456.

Digital copies of the Rein in the Runoff, Spring Lake Watershed Atlas are available to order, for $5, including domestic, U.S. Postal Service, 1st class shipping, from AWRI. To order, please contact Elaine Sterrett Isely: (616) 331-3749 or iselyel@gvsu.edu.

Grant Resources:

The project team identified potential funding sources for stormwater management, low impact development (LID), or other nonpoint source pollution control projects to assist local stakeholders with finding potential sources of grants or loans. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list of grants or funding sources available; each funding source, program, or agency should be contacted directly to determine current funding priorities, application deadlines, and eligibility.

References:

Ogden, J.C., S.M. Davis, K.J. Jacobs, T. Barnes, and H.E. Fling. 2005. The use of conceptual ecological models to guide ecosystem restoration in south Florida. Wetlands 25: 795-809.

Walsh, C.J., A.H. Roy, J.F. Feminella, P.D. Cottingham, P.M. Groffman, and R.P Morgan II. 2005. The urban stream syndrome: current knowledge and the search for a cure. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 24: 706-723.