NOAA Center of Excellence for Great Lakes and Human Health
Research Goals
Our research is focused on understanding the type and
distribution of pollution in the lower Grand River and at
the river discharge to Lake Michigan. We
examine the effects of discharges from rivers and their
tributaries on the water quality of Lake Michigan
beaches. Our specific goals are:
• to estimate the distribution of pollution within the river
and its tributaries
• to quantify the effects of sediments and temporary
detention in the surface features of the river on the
microbial water quality of the river by developing
watershed models
• to investigate the upstream fecal pollution and their
potential effect on beaches at Lake Michigan
• to understand near-shore processes that contribute to
inactivation of pathogenic microorganisms
Water Pollution Studies for the
Lower Grand River, Michigan
Our research team at Michigan State University (with
funding from the NOAA Center of Excellence for Great
Lakes and Human Health), in cooperation with Ottawa
County, has been conducting water quality investigations
in the lower Grand River. Grand River is the longest river
in Michigan, its watershed makes up 13% of the Lake
Michigan watershed.
The ultimate goals of our research are to be able to predict impaired water quality events, to aid
in decisions on pollution prevention and to further the protection of the public. Beginning April
2005, our research team started a year long monthly water quality monitoring study along the
lower Grand River and Lake Michigan in Grand Haven, MI. Water and sediment samples were
collected from parks and beaches, as well as CSO locations (during wet weather events).
Samples were assayed for fecal indicators and waterborne pathogens (i.e. Cryptosporidium spp,
Giardia spp. and enteric viruses). Preliminary results show that E. coli bacteria levels in the lower
Grand River and at Grand Haven beaches exceeded EPA single sample geometric mean for
recreational water quality guidelines on one out of seven occasions. Also, there were indications
of recent fecal pollution in the area because coliphages were present in 26.8% of samples.
Human pathogens, Cryptosporidium and Giardia were present in five out of seventeen beach
samples. Cryptosporidium were detected in 23 out of 36 and Giardia were present in 20 out of 36
park samples. Our results also suggested that sediments may be a main source for water quality
impairment because bacteria were present in 10 X higher concentrations in sediment when
compared to surface water.
NOAA Center of Excellence for Great Lakes and Human Health
Chemical-Biological Tracer Study at the Lower Grand River
In May 2006, a dual (chemical -Rhodamine WT and biological - bacteriophage P22) tracer study was
conducted on a 40-km stretch of the lower Grand River, downstream from the city of Grand Rapids,
MI with the objective of studying the factors that influence the travel times, distribution and inactivation
kinetics and of waterborne pathogens in surface waters. We were able to use watershed modeling
coupled with a transient storage formulation to describe the flow-weighted average concentrations of
both Rhodamine WT and bacteriophage P22 in three different reaches of the river. Our model showed
that travel times were similar for both tracers and that a constant (first-order) inactivation rate in the
range 0.3 – 0.6 per day described the inactivation of P22 in the river. These models will be used to
predict risk at recreational beaches and parks.
Near-shore Processes and Inactivation in the
Surf Zone
We are developing models that couple the lake-wide circulation
with near-shore hydrodynamics to understand the complex and
often inter-related processes (e.g., sunlight, temperature, nutrients,
predation, resuspension) that contribute to inactivation (loss of cells
per unit time) of indicator bacteria in the surf zone (Liu et al., 2006).
We are using the Great Lakes version of the Princeton Ocean
Model (POM) to describe circulation in Lake Michigan. The
hydrodynamic model is coupled to a biology module that is being
developed and refined at MSU.
Watershed Modeling: Description of In-Channel
Processes
1000
Observed
Simulated
3
Discharge, Q (m /s)
800
600
400
200
0
0
100
200
300
400
500
Julian Day (2004)
600
700
800
900
To understand processes that influence the
distribution, fate and transport of pathogens in the
environment, we have developed watershed models
for the Grand River watershed. While influences at
the watershed-scale are important, fate and
transport are often controlled by in-channel
processes such as sediment-water interactions,
transient storage within the channel and retention
due to hyporheic exchange with near-bed sediments
to name a few. Our models describe these linkages
at different scales and can be used to provide
information on loading for the near-shore models.
To understand in-channel processes, we recently proposed a novel approach based on coupling
traditional tracer data (breakthrough curves) with the high-resolution, three-dimensional velocity
fields obtained from acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs). We demonstrated that wavelet
decomposition of ADCP data coupled with information obtained from tracer studies provides useful
insights into in-channel processes (Phanikumar et al., 2007).
NOAA Center of Excellence for Great Lakes and Human Health
Journal Publications
• L. Liu, M.S. Phanikumar, S.L. Molloy, R.L. Whitman, M.B. Nevers, D.A. Shively, D.J. Schwab, J.B.
Rose, The Transport and Inactivation of E. coli and Enterococci in the Nearshore Region of Lake
Michigan, Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 40, No. 16, pp. 5022-5028, doi:
10.1021/es060438k (August 15, 2006)
• M.S. Phanikumar, I. Aslam, C. Shen, D.T. Long and T.C. Voice, Analysis of Stream Transient
Storage Using Tracer Data and Wavelet Decomposition of Acoustic Doppler Current Profiles,
Water Resources Research, Vol. 43, doi: 10.1029 / 2006WR005104 (in press, March 2007)
• T.T. Fong, L.S. Mansfield, D.L. Wilson, D.J. Schwab, S.L. Molloys, J.B. Rose. Massive
Microbiological Groundwater Contamination Associated with a Waterborne Outbreak in Lake Erie,
South Bass Island, OH. Environmental Health Perspectives (in review)
• Knoll, L. B., O. Sarnelle, S. K. Hamilton, C. E. H. Scheele, A. E. Wilson, J. B. Rose and M. R.
Morgan. Invasive zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) increase cyanobacterial toxin
concentrations in low-nutrient lakes. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (in
review)
• T.T. Fong, M.S. Phanikumar, J. B. Rose et al., The Fate and Transport of Biological Tracer P22 in
a Complex Water System in Michigan, Applied and Environmental Microbiology (in preparation)
• M.S. Phanikumar, C. Shen, I. Aslam, and J.B. Rose, The Transport of Biological Tracer P22 in
Surface Water:The Grand River, Michigan , Water Resources Research (in preparation)
• L. Liu, M.S. Phanikumar, R.L. Whitman and J.B. Rose, Sensitivity Analysis of Factors Influencing
the Fate and Transport of Fecal Indicator Bacteria in the Surf Zone, Advances in Water
Resources (in preparation)
Sample Proceedings
• C. Shen, M.S. Phanikumar, T.T. Fong and J.B. Rose, The transport of biological tracer P22
relative to Rhodamine WT in a large surface water system: The Grand River, Michigan, American
Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting, December 11-15, 2006, San Francisco
• S. Singh and J. B. Rose. Presence of fecal indicator bacteria in sediment and surface water along
the Grand River and beaches of Lake Michigan. Ottawa county public meeting. August 19, 2006.
• Knoll, L. B. O. Sarnelle, S. Hamilton, C. Scheele, A. Wilson, J. Rose and M. Morgan. Invasive
zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) increase cyanobacterial toxin concentrations in low-nutrient
lakes. Ecological Society of America, Memphis, Tennessee, August 2006.
• S. Singh and J. B. Rose. Microbial and pathogenic pollution in parks and beach along the Grand
River. Michigan Chapter of American Water Works Association. Sept. 13, 2006
•S.L. Molloy, L. Liu, M.S. Phanikumar, T.M. Jenkins, M. Wong, R.L. Whitman, D.A. Shively, M.B.
Nevers, and J.B. Rose, The Presence and Near-Shore Transport of Human Fecal Pollution in Lake
Michigan Beaches, Proc. MTS and IEEE Oceans 2005 Conference, Washington, D.C., 1-6 (2005)
• J.B. Rose, S.L. Molloy, L. Liu, M.S. Phanikumar, T.M. Jenkins, M. Wong, R.L. Whitman, D.A.
Shively, And M.B. Nevers, Waterborne Viruses and Human Sewage on Lake Michigan Beaches,
Lake Michigan: State of the Lake, 4th Biennial Conference of the Great Lakes Beach Association
(GLBA), Book of Programs with Abstracts, pp. 59 (2005)
• L. Liu, M.S. Phanikumar, S.L. Molloy, R.L. Whitman, M.B. Nevers, D.A. Shively and J.B. Rose,
Modeling the Fate and Transport of Fecal contaminants in near-shore area of the Trial Creek,
Southern Lake Michigan: State of the Lake, Great Lakes Beach Association (GLBA), Book of
Programs with Abstracts, pp. 77 (2005)
NOAA Center of Excellence for Great Lakes and Human Health
Contact information
Joan B. Rose, Ph.D.
Homer Nowlin Chair for Water Research
13 Natural Resources
Michigan State University
E. Lansing, MI 48824
Phone: 517-432-4412
Fax: 517-432-1699
Phanikumar S. Mantha, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Civil & Environmental Engineering
A130 Engineering Research Complex
Michigan State University
E. Lansing, MI 48824
Phone: (517) 432-0851
Email: [email protected]
E-mail: [email protected]