GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – A new Grand River interactive water quality monitoring station is now installed on the Sixth Street Bridge. It allows passersby to view real-time data via a QR code. The City of Grand Rapids and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) partnered on the installation.
Over the last 40 years, the City’s Environmental Services Department has performed water quality sampling along the Grand River. It has compiled significant data regarding water quality over that time. That data shows how significant investments by the City and its rate payers in Combined Sewer Overflow elimination, green infrastructure, stormwater and wastewater treatment have improved water quality in the Grand River.
Even so, that routine testing has occasionally found Escherichia coli (E. Coli) levels at times exceeding the recreational water quality criteria. While E. Coli can itself cause illness when ingested, it can also indicate when other disease-causing organisms might be present. The higher concentrations are typically associated with large rain events causing run-off. Current technologies that accurately test for E. Coli take 4 to 18 hours to produce results. More timely results are desirable in the Grand River. This type of scientific advancement could also benefit water quality testing around the world.
Through this station, the USGS Upper Midwest Water Science Center is measuring dissolved oxygen, conductance, water temperature, turbidity, fluorescent dissolved organic matter (fDOM), and tryptophan-like fluorescence every 15 minutes. Meanwhile, the USGS will also be collecting and analyzing samples at their Bacteriological Research Laboratory in Lansing, MI. After three years of data collection, USGS will create a best-fit model that relates the water quality station data to E.Coli concentrations. Once the model is complete, the City anticipates using it to build a beaconing system to be installed at major river access points.
The installation comes as the City, Grand Rapids Whitewater and other local partners prepare to restore the rapids and create a River For All.
“Through the years of the public engagement process for the Grand River Restoration project, one common question we were asked is about the water quality of the Grand River,” City Project Manager Michael Staal said. “We took the question seriously and while we know – through our historical monitoring efforts – the E. Coli levels don’t typically reach the State’s recreational non-contact limits, there are times it does. Creating a partnership with USGS on this cutting edge project is an important step to working towards providing actionable data for the users of the Grand River.”
Ciarra C. Adkins, JD, equity analyst with the City of Grand Rapids, said this undertaking is a great example of how the City is leading with equity and innovation in its efforts to create a River for All.
“We know that environmental equity requires us to provide intentional and manageable information on water quality to all residents, many of whom may not have scientific training to understand the raw data. That’s why the City is working very intentionally throughout this process to partner with the Office of Equity and Engagement to create a process for residents to interpret and understand the data sets in an effort to dispel mis-information on the Grand River’s water quality and to hopefully attract new local users of this wonderful amenity.”
Matt Chapman with Grand Rapids Whitewater spoke on the benefits he expects this project will add to the community and to the Grand River.
“Despite years of water quality data trending in the positive direction, the Grand River still has a negative reputation as a polluted river. This real time data, accessible to everyone, will build awareness around the health of the river and hopefully spark additional conversations about the need for long-term stewardship of this natural resource. With this data, and the future water quality alert system, the public will have the information they need to safely recreate in or along the Grand River.”
USGS is funding 60 percent of the project. Local funding for the Sixth Street gage comes from the Grand Rapids Downtown Development Authority and a Grand Rapids Community Foundation grant to the City of Grand Rapids.
Scientists will deploy water-quality instruments annually at the Sixth Street bridge from May through October. Neighboring USGS installations at the North Park Street and Fulton Street bridges along the Grand River are deployed year-round. The public can learn more about the project and view real-time data online from all 3 USGS sites HERE.
Original source can be found here.
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