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Watershed
Information
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Overview
Did
you know that you live in a watershed?
Van Buren Township is in the
Rouge and the Huron River Watersheds. A
watershed is the area of land that drains water into a certain river system.
The Rouge River Watershed is located in Southeastern Michigan and
includes over 400 square miles of land. In
fact, the Rouge River Watershed covers all or part of 48 communities and 3
counties. Although the Rouge River
does not run through Van Buren, we are connected to the Rouge by our storm drain
system. The majority of the northern half of Van Buren is in the
Rouge River Watershed. The rest of
our township, including Belleville Lake, is in the Huron River Watershed.
Because we live in a watershed, our daily actions affect the quality of
the river and its streams. In fact,
more than one third of the pollution in our water ways come from stormwater
runoff. When it rains, stormwater
falls on our roofs, driveways, lawns, and other areas.
If it is not absorbed into the ground, it picks up pollutants such as
excess fertilizers, oil, grease, and sediments and carries them over land, into
stromdrains and eventually into the river.
What
is the Lower One Subwatershed?
In order to manage the large
area of the Rouge River watershed, local units of government decided to divide
the watershed into subwatersheds. One
of these subwatersheds is the Lower One Subwatershed of which Van Buren Township
is an active partner. Van Buren is
working with these communities to develop a subwatershed management plan to help
protect and restore this community resource.
What
is unique about the Lower One Subwatershed?
The Lower One Subwatershed
has a special location with regard to the Rouge River.
Our part of the watershed is considered the “headwaters” of the Rouge
River, or the place where the river starts to flow in smaller creeks and streams
before they meet the large river. The
protection of our headwater streams is crucial to the quality of water
downstream. Over 50 percent of the
total land area in the Lower One is still open space – agricultural land,
wetlands, and woodlands. Because of
these natural features, the water quality in these areas remain the best in the
whole watershed! This means that
there is a lot of opportunity to proactively protect water quality and our
existing natural resources. The
protection of these resources is especially important because new development in
our subwatershed is occuring rapidly. If
we do not plan carefully, increasing development could mean the degradation of
our waterways.
How
does our changing landscape affect the quality of the Rouge?
The good news is that the
quality of the creeks and streams within the Lower One Subwatershed have
historically been quite good compared to other downstream subwatersheds.
However, the past few decades have seen the impacts of increasing
development and a rapidly changing landscape.
In fact, the number of households in this area will double in the next 25
years! For our waterways, more
houses, more streets, and more parking lots mean increased stormwater runoff and
increased pollution. While the
Lower Rouge River is still in fairly good condition, there are significant water
quality, water quantity, and fish and wildlife concerns in the Lower One
Watershed that need to be addressed.
How
do we plan for the future of our Rouge River?
1. Get involved in the Lower
One Management Plan: Local
officials in the Lower One Subwatershed have been working together for several
years to protect and restore the Rouge River.
Currently, our working group, is developing a subwatershed management
plan that will serve as an action plan. However,
because we all impact the Rouge River, we all need to be involved in order to
have a plan that will work.
Please download a copy of
the draft plan and contact the Van Buren Township Environmental Coordinator if
you have any comments or questions:
Draft of Rouge Watershed
Plan
2. Be aware of your impact
on the river: Small change in your daily activities can make a big difference
– like reducing your lawn fertilizer or inspecting your septic system – that
can have a great impact on increasing the health of the Rouge River.
Also please stop by the Township Hall to visit our Rouge River display
and pick up a copy of the Rouge River Repair Kit and our other information
pieces. These are useful guides
that can help us understand how we can all make a positive difference in the
water quality in Van Buren.
3. Volunteer to help the
Rouge: Friends of the Rouge (FOTR) is a non-profit organization dedicated to
citizen stewardship of the Rouge River. Call
FOTR at (313) 792-9900 to find out more about River Day, River Watch, the annual
Frog and Toad survey, the Rouge Education Project, and other activities.
Together we can all protect and restore the Rouge River, its creeks and
streams, and fish and wildlife to be enjoyed for generations to come.
Why
should I get involved?
There are many positive
benefits to protecting the water quality and natural features of our community
in both the Rouge River and Huron River Watershed.
These Include:
·
Increased
recreational opportunities, both passive and active.
·
Improved
aesthetics
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Potential
rise in property values
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Increase
wildlife habitat
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A
safe place for you and your children and grandchildren to discover and explore.
Help us to continue to make
Van Buren Township a premier community that we can all be proud of!
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