FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 24, 2009
Contact: Robert McCann
(517) 241-7397
Michigan Inland Lakes Monitoring Report Available
The Department of Environmental Quality and the United States Geological
Survey today announced the release of a summary report of ambient water
quality characteristics of Michigan's inland lakes with public access. The
"State and Regional Water-Quality Characteristics and Trophic Conditions of
Michigan's Inland Lakes, 2001-2005" report was prepared by the USGS,
Michigan Water Science Center, in cooperation with the DEQ.
The report summarizes the results of the first five years of Michigan's Lake
Water Quality Assessment monitoring project conducted by the DEQ and the
USGS under a joint funding agreement supported with Clean Michigan
Initiative funding. The ten-year LWQA monitoring project, which will be
completed in 2011, is a component of the DEQ's surface water monitoring
strategy.
During 2001-2005, 433 lake basins from 364 inland lakes with public access
were monitored for baseline water quality conditions and trophic status, an
indicator of primary biological productivity. Trophic evaluations based on
the data collected for these lakes indicate nearly three-quarters are either
mesotrophic or oligotrophic, which are typically perceived as very good to
high quality lakes, and 22 percent are eutrophic. Only four percent of the
lakes were classified as hypereutrophic, which is perceived as lower quality
by most lake users.
Although the distribution of lakes in Michigan is not uniform, the highest
percentage of oligotrophic lakes are in the Northern Lakes and Forests or
North Central Hardwoods Omernik Level III Ecoregions located in northern
Michigan.
The report is available online at http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2008/5188/
or by contacting Lori Fuller at lmfuller@usgs.gov or (517) 887-8911.
The DEQ contact for the LWQA monitoring project, Ralph Bednarz, can be
reached at bednarzr@michigan.gov or (517) 335-4211. Additional information
on Michigan's inland lakes monitoring programs is available on the DEQ's Web
site at http://www.michigan.gov/deq.
Additional information about other USGS, Michigan Water Science Center,
reports, water quality data, and Michigan projects is available on the
USGS's Web site at http://mi.water.usgs.gov/.
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"Protecting Michigan's Environment, Ensuring Michigan's Future"
Attachment:
InlandLakesMonitorRpt022409.pdf
Description: Adobe PDF document