Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID MI_2024_Steinman

Salinization of West Michigan Lakes: Surveying Prevalence, Severity, and Location

Institute: Michigan
Year Established: 2024 Start Date: 2024-09-01 End Date: 2025-08-31
Total Federal Funds: $25,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $25,011

Principal Investigators: Dr. Alan Steinman

Project Summary: The salinization of freshwater ecosystems is a growing concern, especially in north temperate regions due to runoff from de-icing salts. We have observed this problem in a chain of lakes in Grand Rapids, MI and other isolated examples have been detected around Kalamazoo and Ann Arbor but we believe this problem is prevalent throughout Michigan. However, observa?onal data are needed to assess the degree of saliniza?on and its puta?ve causes. We propose a 5-part study to evaluate the prevalence and severity of saliniza?on in west Michigan lakes: 1) conduct a geospa?al analysis of lakes larger than 5 hectares in the 5-county west Michigan Metropolitan Planning Organiza?on (MPO): Muskegon, Oceana, Lake, Newaygo, and Mason Coun?es, extrac?ng data from exis?ng databases to iden?fy candidate lakes to sample; 2) determine salt applica?on rates from MDOT and county road commission data bases; 3) sample a depth profile in a subset of the lakes (~50 lakes) for specific conduc?vity, chloride, total phosphorus, and general water quality; 4) synthesize the results and use predic?ve models to predict the prevalence of salt contamina?on to other lakes in Michigan; and 5) disseminate this informa?on to stakeholders in west Michigan with assistance of MSU extension and our local planning organiza?on (MPO), the West Michigan Regional Shoreline Development Commission (WMSRDC)