Groundwater Program Protects Northern Michigan Resources

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GrandTraverseCounty

520 West Front Street, Suite A
Traverse City, Michigan 49684-2208
Phone: 231-922-4620 / E-mail:
Fax: 231-922-4633
Web: msue.msu.edu/grandtraverse
Director: Jim Wiesing
November 2009

MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer. Michigan State University Extension programs and materials are open to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, religion, age, height, weight, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, family status or veteran status. Issued in furtherance of MSU Extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Thomas G. Coon, Director, MSU Extension, East Lansing,MI48824. This information is for educational purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade names does not imply endorsement by MSU Extension or bias against those not mentioned.

Groundwater program protects northern Michigan resources

The Michigan Groundwater Stewardship Program (MGSP) provides educational, financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers and residents to identify and reduce groundwater contamination risks.

It encourages individuals to take voluntary, proactive steps to protect Michigan’s groundwater—the source of most rural residents’ drinking water. Nitrogen and certain persistent, highly leachable pesticides have been found in groundwater around the nation and in Michigan.

Michigan’s Groundwater and Freshwater Protection Act provides for the collection of fees from the purchase of nitrogen fertilizers and pesticides to support the MGSP. More than $3.5 million is available for educational efforts through an annual competitive grant process.

The MGSPjust completed its 15th year. During that period, the program has assisted farmers in conducting more than 15,000 environmental risk assessments of management practices, structures and site conditions at the farm headquarters through a program called Farm*A*Syst.

The assessments help producers identify and reduce risks to groundwater and surface water supplies. It is a major step to becoming Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP) verified. More than 80 agricultural operations in Antrim, Benzie, Leelanau and Grand Traverse counties have earned MAEAP verification--11 percent of the state’s total.

The cropping assessment system (Crop*A*Syst) helps producers develop and implement management plans to prevent contamination of surface and groundwater in fields, orchards and nurseries. More than 2,000 producers have voluntarily reviewed their pesticide, fertilizer, water use and conservation management practices.

Abandoned wells are a direct pipeline to groundwater sources and pose a health and safety risk. Identifying abandoned wells and financial assistance through the MGSPhas resulted in closure of nearly 8,000 wells.

The program has encouraged well owners to test their wells for nitrogen and triazine pesticides. Approximately 10,000 well water samples have been screened at no charge to well owners in Northwest Michigan.

The Groundwater Program pays for the disposal of unused and unwanted pesticides following local collections in Clean Sweep or Hazardous Materials/Clean Sweep Programs. More than 1.6 million pounds of chemicals have been removed from storage barns, basements, sheds, and other risky locations and properly disposed of.

Farmers have participated in delivering over 700,000 pounds of rinsed containers to the Groundwater/Michigan Association of Business Association’s agri-chemical container recycling program. Recycling minimizes the risk of pesticides from improperly rinsed and stored ‘empty’ containers entering ground or surface water.

MGSP partners includeconservation districts,the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA), Michigan State University Extension (MSUE), and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Locally, Dan Busby of the Grand Traverse Conservation District provides risk assessments, emergency planning, drift management plans and other assistance to farmers inBenzie, Leelanau, Grand Traverse and Antrim counties.

Roberta Dow, MSUE district water quality educator, develops training and educational materials, trains MGSP staff members and conductsprograms in northern Michigan and the U.P.

Jim Pawlowicz, a field staff member with the MDA Environmental Stewardship Division, assists and monitors the grant groups, and conducts on-site water monitoring.

MSU Extension offers a FRESH resource for Grand Traverse County

The MSU Extension Family Nutrition Program (FNP)once again offered Project FRESH (Farm Resources Expanding and Supporting Health) and Senior Project FRESH to low-income families and senior citizens throughout the summer growing season.

Participants, who must meet eligibility requirements, include families who qualify for food stamps and seniors at 185 percent of the poverty level.

Through Project FRESH, residents take part in nutrition education classes focused on the benefits of consuming fresh fruit and vegetables. They learn to select, cook and store the produce, and receive coupons that they can redeem at participating farmers’ markets and farm stands.

This summer, MSU Extension FNP staff:

Offered 26 classes at the MSU Extension office
Provided two classes at an area farm
Educated 367 WIC clients in one class
Offered Senior Project FRESH to 256 seniors in Grand Traverse County
Gave these seniors 472 coupon books
Partnered with Love for Children volunteers who provided daycare during classes for 81 families with 180 children.

Though actual return rates will not be known for several months, more than $25,000 has already been reimbursed to area farmers through MSU Extension in Grand Traverse County.

Free water screening offered to area residents

The Michigan Groundwater Stewardship Program offers free well water screening for triazine pesticides, nitrates and nitrites during Ag Expo, MSU’s outdoor farm show that’s held on the East Lansing campus every July.

Roberta Dow, district water quality educator, promoted the opportunity to northwest Michigan and the Eastern U.P. homeowners and collected the samples for delivery to MSU.

MSU Extension offices in 12 counties received 976 samples. This made up 34 percent of the samples from the entire state that were tested this year. It takes a truck to deliver that many ice-packed water samples to the Michigan Department of Agriculture’s Geagley Water Testing Laboratory in East Lansing.

This year Leelanau County residents submitted the second-highest number of samples (141), Grand Traverse the fifth-highest number (141) and Benzie County had the sixth-highest (132).

One Chippewa County sample contained triazine pesticide. Eight wells out of 976 had nitrates above the drinking water standard (10 parts per million), which indicates that drinking this water by certain segments of the population is risky.

Seventy five samples from the 12 counties were between 5 and 10 ppm and bear continued interest by the well owners. One Emmet County well tested positive for nitrite, which suggests recent contamination.

Since these samples are not randomly taken, one cannot say anything about water quality in the various counties, except that not all water is potable and everyone should test their well water annually.

The value of the well water tests that were provided by the Michigan Groundwater Stewardship Program,with partnership from MSU Extension,was about $29,000. The value in Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties alone was nearly $9,500.

Fuel storage bulletin helps farmers meet regulations, protect groundwater

On-farm fuel storage carries one of the highest risks to groundwater resources. To help growers protect their water and comply with regulatory standards, MSU Extension provides a bulletin called “On-farm Fuel Storage”(item number WQ 59).

The bulletin was written by Roberta Dow, MSU Extension northern district water quality educator.

The Michigan Groundwater Stewardship Program recently provided support to revise and reprint this bulletin, which is available for free from any MSU Extension office or online at