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Project Details

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Project Information Sheet 1999-11

Lake Michigan tributary monitoring

Funding Source:	Great Lakes Commission
Period of Contract:	1 Jun 1999 to 30 Jun 2000
Status:	completed — Definition of status type
Project Director:	Greg Olyphant

Issue

Tourism is a major industry along the Lake Michigan shoreline of Indiana, but in recent years it has been necessary to intermittently close public bathing beaches, as a result of high levels of E. coli contamination in nearshore waters. In order to understand, predict, and ultimately prevent such contamination, the role of bacterial flushing from land-based sources must be better understood.

Objective

The purpose of this project is to characterize temporal variations in bacterial outfalls at the mouths of creeks (such as Derby Ditch) that flow into Lake Michigan.

Approach

We conducted continuous monitoring of flow and water quality at the outlet of Derby Ditch, collected water samples for bacterial analysis during three storm periods and one dry period, and developed statistical relationships between water-quality parameters (for example, pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and turbidity) and bacterial concentrations in stream flow. During 1998-1999, instruments were installed and continuous monitoring was conducted. Samplings for bacterial contamination were conducted over 24-hour periods during two storms.

Products

Results of the study can be accessed through the Lake Rim Web site: http://129.79.145.25/indmaps/ims/lakerimmo/lakerim_front.html

Benefits

This monitoring advances the understanding of the sources of pathogens in Lake Michigan, and possible ways to prevent and remediate bacterial pollution.

Locations Affected:

Porter

Indiana House Districts Affected:

1 10 11

12 13 15

17 19 2

3 4 5

Indiana Senate Districts Affected:

1 2

3 4

5 6

8

Indiana Congressional Districts Affected:

Information Updated February 1, 2007

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