Grants: Water Resources
Page 6 of 7 pages « First < 4 5 6 7 >
Understanding the Fate of Contaminants in the Pine River
May 1999SVSU used this grant to kick start a new program to allow environmental chemistry students to monitor the Pine River’s ecosystem over the next 10 years. The Pine River at St. Louis is heavily contaminated with DDT and other toxic compounds. The area has been designated a Super Fund site. The project will allow students to monitor levels of contaminants in the river system as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality clean up the site. The program will provide a safe “hands on” learning experience for students. This seed funding will allow SVSU to implement the program during the first year, after which it will be self-sustaining through the environmental chemistry program. The project is not intended to produce data for any regulatory or enforcement purposes. However, the data will be available to people interested in the remediation of the Pine River.
Outdoor Writers Tour of the Saginaw Bay Area
May 1999The CVBs partnered to promote the watershed’s outdoor attractions to outdoor writers visiting the area for a national In Fisherman walleye tournament. The tournament was held August 4-6, 1999. The writers’ tour was held July 30 – August 6. The CVBs developed a targeted list of writers and a package of materials about the watershed’s attractions. By exposing a cross section of writers to the watershed’s amenities, the CVBs can generate stories in credible national and regional media about the Saginaw Bay area and the watershed.
Fisheries Scoping Study
November 1998Shortly after it was organized in late summer 1998, the WRTG identified fishery enhancement as a primary area of initial focus for its work. The WRTG wished to identify areas where it could target its time and resources to make a tangible difference in the quality and public perception of water resources in The Saginaw Bay Watershed. The WRTG asked The Conservation Fund to perform a scoping study to help it develop a practical, broad-based understanding of public perceptions about fisheries in the watershed and the status of those fisheries. The study also identified an array of appropriate project opportunities for WIN and new WIN partners. The WRTG has begun tapping those opportunities and working with new partners. A final report on the Fisheries Scoping Study was submitted to the Bay Area Community Foundation on August 25, 1999.
Restoring Flows and Enhancing Fish Passage over Low-head Barrier Dams in the Saginaw River Wateshed
Based on research presented in the WIN Water Resources Fisheries Scoping Study. This document detailed a critical issue facing the natural reproduction of the Saginaw Bay Fishery as lack of access to appropriate spawning areas caused by dams. This project developed a strategy for resource managers and communities that will assess the most cost-effective options for fish removal and/or fish passage to achieve the targeted, sustainable fish population goals for Saginaw Bay. This strategy includes a classification of dams in the Saginaw River Watershed based on current use, ownership, expected life span, potential safety issues, sea lamprey barrier issues, and other factors such as potential for increasing spawning habitat in a tributary, as well as costs and funding options.
Tesla Turbine for recovery of Electrical energy from Waste Heat
This project builds on ongoing research in two previously funded WIN projects: Freshwater Prawn Propagation and the Biomass Fuel Pellets Derived from Agricultural Waste. In this program, SVSU researchers will attempt to determine the feasibility of using a Tesla bladeless turbine to extract and create electrical energy from the waste heat generated by the biomass furnace located at Saginaw’s Good Neighbors Mission. The furnace at the Mission was chosen because it already has the necessary telemetry to analyze the functionality of the turbine from an off site location. It is surmised that this same system can be used to derive electrical energy from nearly any operation that produces waste heat – such as power plants or industries that generate heated wastewater.