Water Quality
Developing Our Coastlines – Four Michigan Communities Take Stock of Their Great Lakes Assets
In 2005, the Michigan Environmental Council conducted a study regarding the coastal development in Michigan. It consulted four communities to do so.
City of Chicago Water Education Campaign
In 2005, the City of Chicago began a water education campaign to demonstrate grassroots stormwater best management practices through rain barrels and rain gardens. 400 residences were equipped with rain barrels, and the city estimated that over 170,000 gallons of water were conserved from these rain barrel installations. Additional information about the campaign's ongoing programs can be found by clicking on the adjacent link.
Superior, Wisconsin Stormwater Education Program
Through the City of Superior's Stormwater Education program, fifth and sixth graders are able to tour the city's wastewater treatment plant.The plant invites all fifth and sixth grade classrooms each year and provides funding for buses, bus drivers, and snacks at the treatment plant. Treatment plant staff also discuss water quality programs like rain barrel installation, rain gardens, composting, and beach clean-ups. Because poor weather can cause visit cancellations, the wastewater treatment plant also created a “virtual tool” option. The program has become a great success and is a highlight of the year for many students and teachers
Great Lakes Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA)
Date of publication unknown
Great Lakes Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA)® is an online mapping tool for coastal pollution cleanup, restoration, and response efforts in the Great Lakes Basin, from Minnesota to New York in the United States and from Ontario to Quebec in Canada.
In addition to information on natural resources, habitat, weather, water levels, and currents, it includes the most comprehensive collection of environmental contaminant data in the Great Lakes. Great Lakes ERMA gathers all of this data from NOAA and our partners into a centralized, easy-to-use map for environmental responders, resource managers, and decision makers.
NOAA, as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, collaborated with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, and University of New Hampshire to develop Great Lakes ERMA. Great Lakes ERMA is helping expedite cleanup and restoration of Areas of Concern (AOCs) by combining environmental contaminant data from NOAA's Great Lakes Query Manager database with ecological, recreational, tribal, commercial, and manufacturing information.
By comparing environmental conditions over time and between locations, ERMA helps to illustrate progress in restoring the health of the Great Lakes, both across the basin and in Areas of Concern. This online mapping tool also improves planning, communication, and coordination for emergency responses to pollution incidents, such as oil and chemical spills.
NOAA continues to work with federal, state, regional, and non-governmental partners in the Great Lakes to incorporate additional regional data and information into Great Lakes ERMA, including spill response plans, potential climate change impacts, and environmental modeling and forecasts.
Visit site Great Lakes Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA)
US Drought Portal
Date of publication unknown
The US Drought Portal allows practitioners to access and interact with drought and climate related data, including maps and graphing capabilities, to help understand drought and how it changes over time. It's meant to provide early warning about emerging and anticipated droughts, assimilate and quality control data about droughts and models, provide information about risk and impact of droughts to different agencies and stakeholders, provide information about past droughts for comparison and to understand current conditions, explain how to plan for and manage the impacts of droughts, and provide a forum for different stakeholders to discuss drought-related issues.
High Rate Treatment Facility
Date of publication unknown
In 2007-2008, the City of Niagara Falls, Ontario, has implanted a high rate treatment facility that separates solids from water during severe storms or snow melt in order to avoid these components to flow with runoff water. The City also closed the Muddy Run combined sewer overflow, leading to a 62% reduction of sewer discharge.