Cement banks
Stress reigns on Michigan's freshwaters
The Red Cedar River divides Michigan State University's campus. It bears the stigma of contamination from years past, but local officials say it's come a long way. Student and community groups have helped keep it clean and clear. |
Heat and nutrient runnoff from power plants and farms can make freshwater sources cloudy and filled with algae. It's new but unwanted life that can choke off the food supply for fish and other organisms. It can also make the water less suitable for drinking and recreation. |
Dams at power plants like this have disrupted natural ecosystems for years. They flood nearby lowlands and change the flow of the river. But there are ways to make these dams more in harmony with the ecosystem. |
The Brenke Fish Ladder, in Lansing, Mich., alllows annual salmon and trout migrants to bypass the North Lansing Dam and utilize 55 miles of stream tha the fish would otherwise not be able to use. It's an example of adjustments that people can make to be more ecofriendly with freshwater resources. |
Power plants and developments are often built at the water's edge. The water can be pumped into the power stations for cooling and energy production. And lakefront or riverfront property is considered some of the most valuable in any location. |
Both sides of the Detroit River are heavily settled for much of its length. Parking lots and high rises butt the edge of the river, with little natural ground left. The river is heavily contaminated both by industry and runoff from urban dwellings. |
Water is synonymous with life. And just as people often taken life for granted, a precarious situation exists in that the people of America often take water resources for granted. Today, people share Earth with over 6.3 billion other people, 292 million of those people living in the United States of America. The human population continues to rise, while the available freshwater continues to decline. The quality of many bodies of freshwater is deteriorating everyday. In an era of urban sprawl and intensive agriculture, respect for this life-supporting liquid and its surrounding shorelines is often an overlooked concern.
In Lake Macatawa, located in Holland, Michigan, phosphorus levels are extremely high, leading to periodic algal blooms, according to a 1999 Michigan Department of Environmental Quality report. A lake that is hypereutrophic, meaning it suffers from this condition of excess nutrients, causes a high density of algae that can result in hypoxia, or extremely low dissolved oxygen levels. The same thing is happening in the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in a “dead zone,” in which marine life cannot survive.
Humans can impact aquatic systems physically, chemically and biologically. In a crunch for space and a desire to be near water, people build to the very edges of rivers, streams, lakes, and wetlands, often disregarding the potential effects it could have on wildlife habitat and on the aquatic habitats themselves. Often, logging companies remove timber to the very edge of aquatic systems, ignoring the potential for erosion, stream degradation, and ultimate ecosystem catastrophe. One of the most profound problems involves excess nutrients running off into freshwaters, either from direct or indirect sources. Most commonly, fertilization of crops or by-products of livestock are responsible for these nutrients, specifically phosphorus and nitrogen.
Another threat to aquatic ecosystems is dam building. Large dams, for example, can take a toll on native fish populations. One way to ensure fish migratory routes around dams, however, is with the building of fish ladders.
Traditionally, resource management is concentrated on one goal, that goal being to maximize production of goods and services for human use. Today, management has taken on a new perspective, known as ecosystem management. The goal of ecosystem management is to maintain ecosystem integrity by balancing these human demands with other goals that are specific to the ecosystem, such as maintaining native species.
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