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To find out what subwatershed you live in and learn more about watershed protection, visit the Clinton River Subwatersheds page.
In Michigan, communities are coming together to address stormwater management on a watershed basis. In the Clinton River watershed, seven subwatershed planning groups have formed: Upper Clinton, Clinton Main, Stony/Paint, North Branch, Red Run, Clinton River East, and Lake St. Clair Direct Drainage.
Stormwater pollution has become the predominant source of water quality and habitat impairments in the Clinton River and its tributaries. Under Phase II of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), part of the Clean Water Act, more than 40 local and county governments and numerous other public entities across the watershed must meet federal and state standards for reducing stormwater pollution leaving their jurisdiction. |
Clinton River Subwatersheds
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Each group has charted a course to fulfill the requirements of their stormwater permits by working together on a subwatershed basis, sharing data and information and creating joint planning documents.
Major Milestones
November 1, 2004 marked one of the first major permit milestones. After a full year under the new regulations, all of the permittees completed their Public Education Plans (PEPs) and Public Participation Processes (PPPs), which outline how the public will be engaged in the reduction of stormwater pollution and the protection of our local water resources. Each permittee has also drafted an Illicit Discharge Elimination Plan (IDEP), which establishes a process to track down and eliminate sources of pollution such as failing septic systems and cross connections between the sanitary sewer system and storm drain system. In November 2005, Stony/Paint and Upper Clinton Subwateshed Advisory Groups completed their subwatershed plans and submitted them to the MI Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) for approval.
As of Spring 2006, both plans were approved and communities in both subwatershed groups completed their individual Storm Water Pollution Prevention Initiative (SWPPI), which is the document that the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality will use to ensure that each entity is in compliance with their permit.
Each group has been heavily involved in collecting as much information on the water quality and land use in their subwatershed as possible, pouring through historic water quality monitoring data, cataloging information about habitat and wildlife, organizing demographic data, and collecting map layers that illustrate land use trends, habitat types, high quality natural areas, sewer areas and other data. Several of the groups have also conducted limited monitoring in their subwatersheds to supplement existing data.
E-mail Your Comments
If you would like the advisory group for your subwatershed to know your concerns related to improving water quality, email your comments to contact@crwc.org. Our office will pass your comments on to the appropriate Subwatershed Advisory Group. Please be sure to list your municipality in your email.
