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Lake Michigan LaMP 2004

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Status

Land use, recreation, and economic activities aremore sustainable, healthy and supportive of ahealthy ecosystem, but there is significant workthat needs to be done. There is more informationavailable on critical ecosystems, significantactivity in better managing water resources anddetermining the true value of a healthyecosystem. There is danger, however, that theecosystem could deteriorate if the knowledge isnot shared widely and translated into actions.

Challenge

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Land use and human activities are undertakenby individuals aware of the lake ecosystem’scapacity to support human andenvironmental activities.

Sustainability

Effective, sustainable protection of the LakeMichigan ecosystem requires that the LaMPpartners focus on promoting balance betweenthe environment and society. Theinterdependencies inherent in the ecosystem

Subgoal 6Are land use, recreation, and economic activitiessustainable and supportive of a healthy ecosystem?

Chicago’s Water Agenda 2003

Chicago’s Water Agenda 2003, outlines a strategy forcaring for water resources as a whole. The agendacalls for a comprehensive approach to the City’s wa-terways to ensure that they are conserved for futuregenerations, protected improved, and managed. Chi-cago’s Department of Water Management is imple-menting a five-year, $620 million capital improvementprogram that includes replacing approximately 50 milesof old leaking water mains every year. Additionally theDepartment is helping other units of local governmentsexamine their distribution systems for leaks. The im-provements in Chicago alone will save an estimated120 million gallons of water each day.The City will continue to review its procedures and im-plement water conservation measures wherever possi-ble in city buildings and services. Many programs toreduce use in city-owned buildings are already under-way. The City is examining the Building Code for op-portunities to allow for more efficient fixtures, like water-less urinals and dual flush toilets; explore the potential ofinstalling gray water systems to irrigate landscaping orfor flush toilets in public buildings and plant native spe-cies that are drought tolerant to reduce the need forwatering. Further, the city is developing a plan to me-ter all residential water use. Currently, many older resi-dential buildings or residential buildings with fewer thanthree units pay a flat, semi-annual fee for water use.

Lake Michigan LaMP 2004

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perspective require a balance between threefundamental elements: environmental integrity,economic vitality, and sociocultural well-being.The ability of these elements to function inbalance over time is a measure of sustainability.The ecosystem perspective requires a shift offocus from resource programs to resource systemsand in some cases their interaction. It placeshuman activities and communities within anecosystem and consequently, within ecosystemmanagement.The LaMP helps to identify the activities,partnerships, and locations where ecosystemmanagement needs adjustment in order to attaina sustainable Lake Michigan basin. Sustainablelandscapes are local ecosystems that are healthyenough to provide a range of valuable benefitsand services, both now and in the future. Suchbenefits and services to humans include thefollowing:

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Moderating natural events and humanactivities. Healthy landscapes can makecommunities safer and more livable bytempering the effects of natural events andhuman activities. For example, wetlandsystems can absorb and store storm waters,thereby aiding in flood control and ensuringmore predictable stream flows and waterlevels and often providing for recharging localground water.

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Enhancing social well-being. Healthylandscapes provide services that makecommunities more enjoyable and rewarding.For example, they provide opportunities foroutdoor recreation, while also providinghabitat for diverse plant and animal species.Plantings along stream banks can also providebuffers to filter pollutant runoff.

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Supporting local economies.

New Information on Groundwater Flow

Groundwater divides are not necessarily the sameas the Great Lakes watershed divide. In the GreatLakes basin, most shallow flow discharges to local

Michigan Governor Outlines Comprehensive Water Agenda

Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm sent a special message to the Michigan Legislature in January 2004 inwhich she unveiled a comprehensive plan to protect Michigan’s great, fresh waters. The cornerstone of theinitiative is the Michigan Water Legacy Act, a comprehensive water withdrawal statute based on the principlesof the Great Lakes Charter, which will subject all significant water withdrawals to review by the Department ofEnvironmental Quality (DEQ) to ensure that Michigan’s water resources are not impaired or compromised.In addition to the proposed Water Legacy Act that was delivered to state lawmakers in February, the initiativeincludes administrative steps that the Granholm Administration will immediately implement to protect Michiganwaters. Those steps include an executive directive that prohibits state agencies from approving the open waterdisposal of contaminated dredge materials in Michigan waters; and, a second executive directive that asks theDEQ to protect critical isolated wetlands on state land from harm.Further, the Governor asked the Michigan Attorney General to join a number of environmental and conserva-tion groups in a lawsuit against the EPA to compel them to regulate ballast water discharges, and ask state law-makers to live up to the 2004 budget agreement by approving user fees to fund the National Pollutant DischargeElimination System, a critical component in monitoring what goes into our water. The Governor also asked theBush Administration to fund the first installment of a multi-year Great Lakes restoration effort. The last two activi-ties have been accomplished.

Study Shows Residential Property ValuesCould Increase if SedimentPollution Eliminated

A study conducted by the University of Illinois and theNortheast-Midwest Institute found residential propertyvalues throughout Lake County, Illinois could increaseby as much as $333 million if sediment pollution in Wau-kegan Harbor is eliminated. The study also suggests thatredevelopment of the Harbor area, improved shipping,and attraction of new residents and businesses couldfurther add to the benefits of Harbor clean-up.More information is available at

www.nemw.org/Waukegan-July-press-release.pdf

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streams - the Great Lakes watershed divide (i.e.,the subcontinental divide) also serves as aground-water divide for shallow flow. Most deepflow discharges to regional sinks and the deepaquifer divide, however, can be distant from thesurface watershed divide.

Groundwater’s role in the Health ofthe Lake Michigan Ecosystem

Ground water is a major natural resource in theGreat Lakes Region because it indirectlycontributes more than 50 percent of the streamdischarge to the Great Lakes. In addition, groundwater is the source of drinkingwater for millions of people in theregion, is an important source ofsupply for agriculture and manyindustries, and provides arelatively uniform supply of waterin some ecologically sensitiveareas to sustain plant and animalspecies. Therefore, to improve ourunderstanding of water resourcesissues in the Great Lakes Region, itis important to have a betterunderstanding of the role thatground water plays in the overallhydrologic system of the lakes.The main ground water resourcesissues in the Great Lakes Regionare related to the amount ofground water, the interaction ofground water and surface water,changes in ground water qualityas development expands, andecosystem health related to the quantity andquality of water.

A relatively small amount of ground water flowsdirectly to the Great Lakes

The Great Lakes are in topographically lowsettings that, under natural flow conditions,causes them to function as discharge areas or"sinks" for the ground-water-flow system. Mostground water that discharges directly into thelakes is believed to take place near the shore(Grannemann and Weaver, 1999). Of all theGreat Lakes, Lake Michigan has the largestamount of direct ground water discharge (2,700

Basin water supply for the Great Lakes

Source: USGS. 1998. Water Supply Paper 98-52, D.J. Holtschlag and J.R. NicholasLake

Overlake Precipitation(percent)

Surface-Runoff(percent)

Indirect groundwaterdischarge (percent)

Superior 56.3 11.0 32.7Michigan 56.2 9.3 34.5Huron 42.2 16.3 41.5Erie 53.5 24.3 22.2Ontario 34.8 22.8 42.4

Figure 6-1 Groundwater Withdrawals in the Great Lakes Region

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Environmental Protection Agency: lmlamp04 2h

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Upload Date:	01/26/2008
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Tags:	Science environment us usa green conservation unitedstates executive epa environmentalprotectionagency (more tags) Science environment us usa green conservation unitedstates executive epa environmentalprotectionagency environmentalprotection (fewer)