MICHIGAN: IRA TOWNSHIP
Source Water Protection Program Embraces a
Combination of Management Approaches
Background
Ira Township developed a Source Water Protection Plan in accordance with the Michigan
Department of Environmental Quality's (MDEQ) Water Bureau guidance. Ira Township is a
small community, with its drinking water facility serving a population of 8,500. Anchor Bay, a
part of Lake St. Clair, supplies the source water for Ira Township. Lake St. Clair is fed by the St.
Clair River, Lake Huron, and minor tributaries. Extensive chemical and other industries are
located on the U.S. and Canadian sides of the St. Clair River. There is a long history of
chemical spills to the river that could impact water systems downstream of these industrial sites.
In addition, the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, and Detroit River system are heavily used for
commercial shipping.
Set on Anchor Bay, Ira Township has its share of creeks emptying into Lake St. Clair. For a
long time, the federal Environmental Protection Agency and MDEQ have offered monetary
incentives for municipal programs that protect well water. But now, the agency also offers an
incentive for communities such as Ira Township that draw their drinking water from surface
water sources such as lakes, rivers and streams. Communities with an approved Surface
Water Intake Protection Program (SWIPP) receive priority points for the state Drinking Water
Revolving Loan Fund. For Fiscal Year 2006, Ira Township moved from last on the priority listing
to the middle.
Ira Township is the first municipality in the state to create a source water protection plan as part
of the new direction. MDEQ approved the plan in August 2005. This plan source has helped Ira
Township design a more comprehensive plan to maintain and protect water quality.
Priority Contamination Threat
The priority contamination threat is from chemical spills from industrial sources.
Local Involvement and Developing the Protection Plan
The core of the Ira Township Water System Source Water Protection Team consists of the
Township Supervisor, Department of Public Works Superintendent, and the Department of
Public Works Assistant Superintendent. The township team meets weekly.
Ira Township hired the company, COM Detroit, to put together the township's comprehensive
plan. The plan cost between $2,000 and $3,000 as part of the township's $15,000 contract with
COM. A planning consultant helped with developing the plan and the engineer worked
extensively with MDEQ. The township is expanding the team to include the St. Clair County
Health Department Director, St. Clair Farm Bureau, St. Clair County Drain Commissioner, St.
Clair County Metropolitan Planning Commission, representatives from an Ira Township
industrial facility, local environmental organizations, and local school systems.
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The source water protection plan is a comprehensive document. The plan is one document
instead of a dozen. It identifies every ditch, creek and canal, every underground storage tank
and other sites housing potential contaminants in the township with plans on how to manage
them.
Management Measures
The Ira Township Water System relies on a combination of management approaches to
accomplish source water protection, as discussed below.
Infrastructure
The Ira Township Water System intake is highly susceptible to contamination from facilities on
shore or on tributaries to Anchor Bay. The pattern of water circulation in the bay is influenced by
wind direction. Predictions of travel time are highly dependent on current weather conditions.
By recognizing the unique situation of the Lake St. Clair ecosystem, recreation and water
resources, and ongoing concerns with the degradation of water quality due to releases from
industrial, municipal, agricultural, and residential sources, much effort has been placed on better
understanding of water circulation patterns of Lake St. Clair, its connecting channels, the St.
Clair and Detroit Rivers, and Anchor Bay.
The complexity of the hydraulic flow regime within the high velocity, low surface area
channelized riverine system versus the relatively low velocity, high surface area of the lake
introduces a variety of challenges in modeling currents and contaminant flow paths as a function
of flow, location, season, time, weather, and waves. Using funds from MDEQ, the U.S.
Geological Survey developed a two-dimensional hydraulic model to aid in understanding current
flows in the St. Clair River-Lake St. Clair-Detroit River System. These ongoing efforts will result
in better understanding of how to protect public sources of drinking water throughout the lower,
connecting channels. Ira Township is pursuing a source water monitoring system that will
detect possible contaminants that would affect the raw water quality for the water plant intake.
The monitoring system will verify the accuracy and validity of the modeling programs (both the
monitoring system and modeling programs are discussed later in this case study).
Education
Ira Township participates in several water quality programs through St. Clair County and in the
St. Clair/Macomb County Interagency Work Group to promote improvements to water quality in
Lake St. Clair and Anchor Bay. As part of these activities, Ira Township has developed a public
education plan that promotes public awareness for water quality issues. The plan includes
categories for: watershed stewardship, storm drain system and waterways; reporting of illicit
discharges, common house and yard storm water pollutants, waste disposal, and riparian land
management. All of these categories provide some measure of source water protection by
increasing public consciousness of water quality issues. Partnerships in this effort include the
St. Clair County Health Department, Southeastern Michigan Council of Governments
(SEMCOG), St. Clair County Road Commission, St. Clair County Environmental Services, and
City of Port Huron.
Education is probably the biggest part of Source Water Protection Plan. Classroom trips,
pamphlets, advertisements, even paper placemats distributed to local restaurants explaining the
virtues of clean waterways are part of the plan.
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Regulatory
Ira Township, which is a zoned community, has prepared an overall Master Plan to control
development for the township. The Master Plan is adopted by the Township Board (an advisory
board). The Township Board utilizes resolutions to incorporate subsequent modifications to the
Master Plan, as with the Sewer Master Plan, Recreation Master Plan, and the Anchor Bay
Watershed Plan.
Outreach to Potential Contaminant Sources
Ira Township will review each of the potential contaminant sources. Twelve months after
approval of the plan, township staff will conduct a telephone survey of each contaminant
facility's current operation, ownership, location, regulatory permits, regulated activities and
potential impacts to the Ira Township drinking water system. Facilities that are uncooperative
will be flagged for a potential site visit by township and/or regulatory personnel.
Based on funding and staff availability, a handout describing best management practices
relative to drinking water protection may be developed for distribution to applicable sources with
information on:
$ landscaping practices
$ raw material handling
$ buffer zones for storm water runoff
$ secondary containment
$ leak detection
$ spill control
$ water reuse and recycling
In addition, staff will refer each facility to the resources available to evaluate their regulatory
compliance on the State and MDEQ website (www.michigan.gov and www.michigan.gov/deq).
Contingency Planning
In the event that a real threat to the water system intake has been verified, the Ira Township
Water System will initiate the following sequence of activities:
1. At the discretion of the operator on duty, shut down the plant intake.
2. Notify Chain-of-Command
3. Write down and follow all directions given by authorities.
4. Establish a clear line for communication using a township spare telephone line. In the
event of an emergency, it would be used as a "Hotline" and staffed continuously by
township staff during the course of the emergency.
5. Keep a written record of all steps taken during event.
If a contamination has been detected in the distribution system, immediate notification to the
public is important. A flushing program should be started after the following facts have been
considered:
1. Is flushing the best and most effective remedy?
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2. Should Spot or Zone flushing be used? Is the problem system wide?
3. What should be done with flushed waste water? Is it hazardous waste?
The Use of Monitoring and Modeling in Source Water Protection Along the St. Clair River
and Lake St. Clair
Macomb and St. Clair Counties have been working together over the last five years on
watershed planning issues that cross their jurisdictional boundaries. Protecting the St. Clair
River and Lake St. Clair as a source of drinking water is high on the priority list of the counties.
Real Time Monitoring/Notification System
Over the past year, the counties have been focusing on developing a real-time water quality
monitoring and notification system, as an early warning system. The short-term goal of this
project is protection of public health. The long-term goal is source water protection through
pollution prevention.
The purpose of this monitoring/notification system is to:
• Identify chemical spills in the source water before they threaten water treatment plants
(WTP);
• Quickly assess the constituent pollutants;
• Improve the speed and efficiency of the decision-making process; and
• Improve data analysis, decision-making and notification among WTP operators using
internet technology.
How Modeling Can Improve an Early Warning System
Macomb and St. Clair Counties have recently begun considering the benefits of integrating a
model with its real-time monitoring system. The counties are partnering with the Great Lakes
Commission and GLOS, the Great Lakes Observing System in this endeavor. GLOS represents
a broad-base group of government, academic and business end data users who are
coordinating the operations, maintenance, and reporting of data from observing, modeling and
monitoring equipment around the Great Lakes.
A three dimensional model is being considered for use with the real-time monitoring system. A
three-dimensional model is a flexible tool that could be used for multiple purposes including:
• Plume tracking and response,
• River bed movement (erosion studies),
• Ice dynamics, and
• E-coli prediction (public health protection at beaches).
Measuring Program Effectiveness
The effectiveness of Ira Township's Source Water Protection Program depends on: proper
documentation of potential contamination sources, communication to the responsible parties of
potential threats to drinking water, notification from the responsible party to the water supplier if
a threat occurs, and reaction by the responsible party and water supplier to remedy the threat. .
A program encouraging continued dialog between the water supplier, individuals responsible for
potential contaminant sources and the general public is necessary to effectively manage and
protect source waters.
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Other measures are used to evaluate the program include:
• The number of proactive zoning and planning decisions that are based on weighted
values for source water protection initiatives.
• Detection of contaminants that may enter raw source water, then identifying the source
of contaminants and eliminate future releases from these sites.
• The increase of public confidence through monitoring programs.
• Regional and State permits for discharge based on weighted factors of impact on source
water, and review of consideration of existing Source Water Protection Programs.
• Actual numbers of public reached by education programs, pamphlet distribution, media
notices, handouts, and newsletter.
For further information, contact:
Eric Burnowski, Water Plant Superintendent
Ira Township Water System
(586) 725-0263
waterplant@iratownship.org
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