The Huron Creek Water Quality Monitoring Plan established for the Huron Creek Watershed Management Plan is designed to monitor contaminants associated with the factors potentially affecting water quality: stamp sands, landfill leachate, septic systems, and pollutants from commercial and residential development, and road maintenance.   Another portion of the plan includes monitoring using a bio-assessment, which includes a habitat evaluation and a benthic organism study. Such a test determines the capacity of the creek to support specific organisms and is the best measure of the overall health of the stream and all the components affecting the creek.

Testing locations for each parameter are based on the most likely places to capture potential increased concentrations or effects.   Six locations throughout the creek have been chosen to best represent any afflicted region.   These locations include: Green Acres Rd, Downstream of "wetland,” Downstream of frog pool, Upstream of Sharon Ave., Downstream of Sharon Ave, Waterfront Park.  Potential groups that could carry out or facilitate the sampling are also included in the recommendations. Costs are estimated and included in Appendix B.

A summary of the Huron Creek Water Quality Monitoring Plan is described below. 

There are several standard tests to determine if poorly operating septic systems are leaking untreated wastewater into the creek:

•  DO, BOD, COD

•  Fecal Coliform Test

•  Solids Analysis

•  Nutrients (ammonia TKN, TP)

The fecal coliform test is the most direct measure. A fecal coliform count will show if there are dangerous amounts of fecal bacteria in the water.  Another common analysis is to measure the dissolved oxygen, which will be low of waste solids are decomposing and consuming the oxygen.  The presence of oxygen-consuming materials can also be determined by and taking samples and measuring the BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand) and COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) of the water.  These tests along with a solids analysis coud determine whether there is a septic-related problem.   A complete solids analysis determines the quantity of suspended, dissolved, and volatile solids in a sample.

Another important parameter and concern is the amount of nutrients in the creek.   Although they could be coming from other sources, such as lawn fertilizers, a high level of nutrients could also be caused by septic problems.  The nitrogen-based compound ammonia in particular is a main component of wastewater. By testing for ammonia along with other nitrogen compounds and phosphorus, it is possible to determine changes in the creek due to septic outflow.

Recommendation: DO measurements are simple and can be done during any standard water quality examination. The frequency of DO measurements should be once every six months. Ammonia is a important parameter and should be tested for once a year, or as seen fit on a case-by-case basis as described below.  Fecal coliforms should be tested on an annual basis at each of the sampling locations. If there is any reason to believe there is an increased risk of septic failure, then the sampling frequency for tests of fecal coliforms should be increased.

The main parameters to use in determining whether contaminants associated with stamp sands are reaching the creek are the heavy metal concentrations:

•  Heavy Metal testing (Copper, Mercury, Silver)

Copper concentrations have always been a large concern when dealing with copper ore tailings. The other main concern associated with stamp sand is mercury. The mercury is common as an alloy (amalgam) with native metals such as copper. Silver has also been shown to correspond with copper concentrations in tailing piles. 

Recommendation: The stamp sands are listed in the proposal to the DEQ as an area of concern.   However, several metal tests have been performed in the past four years and show that the levels of copper, mercury, and silver are well within safe levels.  Since there is no evidence of elevated levels of copper, silver, or mercury in the stream, including areas most likely to be affected by the stamp sands, there is no immediate need to continuing testing for these metals.  The most practical course of action would be to only test the creek for copper, silver, and mercury if there were some indication that conditions were changing.

Runoff from roads, lawns, and parking lots associated with development was mentioned as a concern in the proposal to the DEQ.  Due to the wide variety of substances that can end up on these surfaces, there is not one specific water quality hazard to test.  Instead, a variety of parameters are to be used to cover most bases.  These include:

•  Nutrients (ammonia, TKN, TP, nitrates, nitrates)

•  pH

•  Turbidity

•  Toxics (organic solvent tests)

•  Alkalinity

•  Hardness

Parameters that can be monitored to detect contaminants reaching the stream from salt and sand deposited on roads and sidewalks include:

•  Chloride

•  Conductivity

•  Heavy Metal testing (if stamp sand is used on the roads)

Both the salt and sand have a good potential to be washed off nearby roads and reach the stream channel.  Chloride is in almost every salt used in Houghton County.  Therefore, a chloride test is the most direct measure of road salt runoff.

Conductivity, on the other hand, is a method of measuring whether or not there are elevated ion concentrations. The elevated ion concentrations can be linked to metals or salts. Using a conductivity probe is a rather simple test for getting accurate conductivity measurements in a body of water. Using baseline measurements of conductivity in known regions will help determine whether or not the conductivity in samples is elevated or diminished.   Unlike the chloride test, however, a conductivity test can be affected by concentrations other than road salts.

Road sand that reaches the stream can contribute to sedimentation problems and does not require a specific water quality test.  However, If stamp sands are used on the road, tests for heavy metals such as copper, silver and mercury may be appropriate.

Developing the Huron Creek Watershed Management Plan