Research undertaken by The Watershed Center and other partners serves the scientific community as well as policymakers, private business, shoreline property owners, citizens and others who are concerned that sustained regional population growth may have negative impacts on our water resources.

Ongoing water quality monitoring is vital to measuring the health of the bay and developing trends. The Watershed Center coordinates a variety of different monitoring projects:

Eight tributaries to Grand Traverse Bay are monitored for E.Coli on a regular basis. For results see the report titled: Local Tributary E.Coli Monitoring Results in our Interactive Water Quality Database. The sampling locations are:

• Mouth of the Boardman River
• Cedar Creek and M22
• Elk River and Cedar
• Kids Creek and Maple Street, downtown Traverse City
• Ptogebo Creek and US 31
• Rapid River Bridge
• Suttons Bay Creek
• Torch River

The Watershed Center periodically monitors public beaches along Grand Traverse Bay for E.Coli during Spring and Summer, depending on available funding. This is a coordinated effort with the Grand Traverse and Benzie/Leelanau County Health Departments. For results of this monitoring see the report titled: Public Beach Monitoring Results in our Interactive Water Quality Database.

For more information on public beach monitorng, visit the Department of Environmental Quality's Public Beach Information website.

Members of the Grand Traverse Power Squadron conduct secchi disk monitoring at five points around the Bay to record water clarity:

• South of Lee Point
• Elmwood Marina
• Acme
• North of Elk Rapids
• Eastport

For results see the report titled "Secchi Disk Monitoring by Grand Traverse Bay Power Squadron" in our Interactive Water Quality Database.

The Watershed Center routinely conducts and participates in various volunteer monitoring projects throughout the watershed. Most of our volunteer monitoring projects sample for macroinvertebrates (insects that live in the stream), which are good indicators of the health of a stream. Additionally, our volunteers fill out a habitat survey at each site to note the present conditions and track changes over time.

These projects utilize volunteer monitoring forms available from the DEQ. The benthic macroinvertebrate in-stream survey sheet uses a ranking system based on the numbers and types of insects found. The habitat watershed survey sheet contains information on: general stream info (temperature, water color, width, depth, etc.), physical appearance, substrate, in-stream cover, stream morphology, stream corridor, and potential sources of pollution.

Both water quality and habitat may affect the numbers, types, and species of insects that inhabit a stream. Some types of insects are more sensitive to the conditions in a stream and will not live there if the water quality is poor or the ideal habitat is not present. Other types of insects are more tolerant to degraded water quality and habitat. Stream sites where greater numbers and types of these 'sensitive' insects are found will score higher on our ranking system than at sites where lower numbers or more 'tolerant' insects are found.

Adopt-A-Stream

Adopt-A-Stream is our most widely known volunteer monitoring program.  This ongoing citizen-based volunteer  program samples macroinvertebrates and documents stream conditions every spring and fall. Volunteers are led by a trained volunteer team leader.

Other Volunteer Monitoring

Past volunteer monitoring projects also include a two year project with the Grand Traverse Regional Math Science and Technology Center (2001 - 2003) where students from three area high school science classes participating in the region’s WaterWatch program monitored three tributaries of the Bay: Kid's Creek, Suttons Bay Creek and Northport Creek. These students added an evaluation of benthic macroinvertebrates to their series of WaterWatch tests.

WaterWatch is an environmental education project that has been operating in the Grand Traverse region since 1995. Each year about 500 students under the direction of 24 elementary, middle, and high school teachers participate. Students carry out several physical, chemical, and biological tests on a stream near their classroom. The results of these tests are used to grade the stream on a scale of 1 - 100.