Land Uses & Water Pollution Sources Christopher Gale Bill Taft By Joan Schumaker Chadde, Western U.P. Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education. All photos by Chadde, unless otherwise noted.

Overview What is a watershed? What are the benefits of a healthy watershed? What are land uses? What types of pollution can come from different land uses?

What is a Watershed? (or Drainage Basin) REVIEW! What is a Watershed? (or Drainage Basin) … the land area that drains runoff (rain or snow) into a lake, stream or river. The boundaries of a watershed, are hilltops and ridges. Source: Doppelt, Bob, Mary Scurlock, Chris Frissell, and James Karr. (1993: xiv).  Entering the Watershed: A new approach to save America's River Ecosystems.  Washington, DC:  Island Press.  Copyright: Pacific Rivers Council.

How Does Your Watershed connect to the Great Lakes Watershed? REVIEW! How Does Your Watershed connect to the Great Lakes Watershed? U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

What watershed do you live in?

What are the Benefits of a Healthy Watershed Clean water Flood control Good fish & wildlife habitat Greater biodiversity More productive for timber & grazing Higher property values More attractive

What are Land Uses? Grazing Farming Forestry (logging) Mining Wildlife habitat Recreation (motorized & non-motorized) Residential Commercial Preservation (wild & scenic)

What are land uses? The ways that people use the land.

What are Types of Pollutants? Nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus) Sediment (dirt) Bacteria Pesticides Road salt Toxic chemicals Metals (mercury, copper, etc.)

Point and Non-point Sources of Water Pollution Point = water pollutants discharged from a pipe into lakes and rivers. Nonpoint = water pollutants carried by runoff over land and into lakes and rivers.

Point source pollution = water pollutants discharged from a pipe

Nonpoint Source Pollution = pollutants carried by water as it runs off over the land. The type of pollutant (sediment, fertilizer, nutrients, pesticides, etc.) depends upon the type of land use. Michigan Department of Environmental Quality

*Fill in your student sheet as you view the slides Look at the following slides *Fill in your student sheet as you view the slides Identify the land use shown in the photo? Identify what type of pollutants might result from the land use (shown in the photo) and possibly affect the water quality of a nearby stream?

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#2 Bill Taft

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#4 Dickinson Conservation District Michigan Department of Environmental Quality

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#8 Michigan Department of Environmental Quality

Leading Sources of Water Quality Impairment to Rivers (MICHIGAN*) Physical stream alterations (e.g. channelization or straightening) Agriculture (crop runoff and animal feedlots) Sediment Industrial Point Source Habitat modification (loss of streamside riparian vegetation) Combined sewer overflows Municipal Point Source Construction Leading pollutants: organic compounds, pathogens, sediment, mercury, low dissolved oxygen, nutrients, metals (copper, chromium) * 2004 Water Quality and Pollution Control in Michigan: 20004 Sections 303(d) and 305(b) Integrated Report, MI DEQ Water Division, page34.

Leading Sources of Water Quality Impairment to Rivers (U.S.*) 1. Agricultural runoff (farming and livestock) 2. Municipal point sources (sewage treatment plants) 3. Streamside habitat changes (channelization, dredging, flow modifications) Leading pollutants: bacteria, nutrients, metals (primarily mercury), sediment * 2000 National Water Quality Inventory (EPA report). Data received on 33% of U.S. waters were assessed for this report. http://www.epa.gov/305b/2000report/factsheet.pdf

How can we reduce or prevent pollution ? BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMPs) …are designed to control, prevent, remove, or reduce pollution. Three BMP categories: 1. Structural Practices Grass or rock-lined drainage ditches. Fence livestock away from stream Sedimentation basin for parking lot runoff 2. Vegetative Practices Cover crops Leave tree and shrub “buffer strips” along streams 3. Management Practices No till farming (don’t plow) Rotate pastures used for livestock grazing No grazing, logging, or building houses right next to a stream