Alternative stormwater management practices in Spring Lake (MI), rein in the runoff: An integrated assessment

Stormwater management is a major issue for municipalities. As increasing amounts of natural land are converted to impervious surfaces, water that was once absorbed by soil or transpired by vegetation is conveyed to nearby surface waters as stormwater runoff. In West Michigan, a collaborative team is identifying the causes, consequences, and corrective actions required to minimize the adverse impacts of stormwater discharges to the water bodies surrounding the Village of Spring Lake and Spring Lake Township. Spring Lake and the Grand River are impacted by high levels of phosphorus, potentially-toxic cyanobacteria blooms, and waterborne pathogens, and the nearshore areas of Lake Michigan are showing signs of impairment from nonpoint source pollution.

 

This project utilizes the Integrated Assessment approach, which synthesizes and delivers existing scientific information about best management practices for stormwater management to local policy-makers.  In addition, the project team is running population growth models, build-out scenarios, and pollutant loading models, with and without best management practices, to assess the impacts of public policy initiatives on stormwater. The project team is engaging stakeholders in the development and review of the integrated assessment, as stakeholder involvement is essential to knowing what is important to whom and why, and for encouraging broad-based approval of final outcomes.