Water 101 Up North

What the Watershed Center wants you to know about our waterways

As summer rolls around and the warm weather finally arrives, locals and visitors alike are turning to the most alluring place in northern Michigan—the water! From sultry beach days to a calming paddle, the summer season revolves around our rivers and lakes.

And while these bodies of water may seem like unchanging constants, they are all part of a larger watershed that is interconnected, continually flowing, and continually changing. Northern Express connected with Heather Smith, waterkeeper at The Watershed Grand Traverse Bay, to check in on the region’s water health, recent impacts, and important need-to-knows for beachgoers and water lovers this summer.

Q. How are the water levels? | A. Average

The water levels in the Great Lakes, and more locally in the Grand Traverse bays, are known to fluctuate from year to year. From record highs seen in 2019-2020, to less dramatic depths, the shape of the watershed and the bodies they flow into is always evolving.

But readers may be surprised to learn that despite the dramatic flooding northern Michigan experienced in April, lake levels are on track for an average season.

“Water levels in Lake Michigan/Huron—which is considered one lake because of the hydrologic connection at the Straits of Mackinaw—levels are sitting right around the long-term monthly average,” says Smith.

She points to water elevation being in the “sweet spot” of not too high nor too low. “There’s not necessarily good or bad water levels,” says Smith, but notes that extreme highs can cause issues like erosion, coastal flooding, and property damage and that extreme lows can reduce habitat and navigation access.

That’s not to say that the record wet April did not have some dramatic impacts. As a result of extensive snowmelt and sustained precipitation, the change in lake levels at that time was striking. “Lake Michigan gained about a foot of water over the month,” says Smith. “You think about how big Lake Michigan and Huron are for it to come up a foot in elevation in a month. That is a lot of water in the system.”

Q. Is our watershed healthy? | A. For the most part

Due to the interconnected nature of the watershed and its systems, Smith says it is difficult to give a blanket assessment to the water quality as a whole. “It’s so variable,” she says. “It would be difficult to assign something because there are so many different water bodies and water ways.”

Smith does note that in general Grand Traverse Bay is in good condition. “The water quality in the bay itself is very high quality,” she says. “When we look at things like nutrients in the open water, it’s a pretty clear, oligotrophic, low nutrient, high quality embayment.”

But where a body of water may do well in one area, it may be experiencing challenges in another. Invasive species are an issue of note for Grand Traverse Bay, with nuisance species like quagga and zebra muscles, the New Zealand mud snail, and round gobies to name a few.

“The Great Lakes are an ever-changing, experimental ecosystem in that invasive species are continuously changing how the food web operates,” Smith says. “So it’s always in flux.”

Another challenge facing the watershed is runoff and chemicals entering from tributaries such as Kids Creek entering the Boardman-Ottaway River.

“We’re seeing chloride levels, especially after snowmelt events, really spiking due to all the impervious surface and the winter road salt we use in the watershed,” says Smith. Chloride is not filtered well by soil and plants and so can be toxic to aquatic life once it enters the system. These pulses of influx into the watershed can have detrimental effects on fish and wildlife in the stream.

Q. Why do beaches close? A. Too much E. coli

As much as everyone enjoys a vacation filled with uninterrupted beach days, there are conditions which warrant beach closures. Within Grand Traverse Bay one of the most common causes of closure is elevated levels of harmful E. coli. This bacteria can pose a public health threat with the potential for illness and is often used as an “indicative organism” when testing the water or calling for a closure.

“The presence of E. coli in surface water indicates fecal contamination,” says Smith. “So it [the water] can be a host of other harmful pathogens and bacteria or viruses that can accompany the E. coli.”

E. coli is often introduced into the bays following a heavy rain event and the resulting stormwater being washed into the watershed.

“We have beaches that are close to stormwater outfalls,” says Smith. “So if there’s a really big rain, think about all that precipitation falling on sidewalks and roads, parking lots. It picks up all the pollutants on those surfaces,” she says. That stormwater is either minimally treated or untreated and as the water empties into the bay it can carry those contaminants with it.

To keep beachgoers safe, The Watershed Center participates in the Healthy Beaches program from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Coordinating with the health departments of Grand Traverse, Benzie and Leelanau counties, area beaches are tested for E. coli every Wednesday with results (and potential closures) posted by noon on Thursday. Results can be found in a variety of locations including the Watershed Center’s Facebook page, and the Grand Traverse County Health Department website. Any beach indicating high bacteria levels will have posted advisories and be retested until they return to acceptable levels.

Q. What do you find on a beach cleanup? | A. All sorts of things, but so much plastic

Part of being a responsible beachgoer means respecting the resource and leaving it safe, clean, and enjoyable for the next person. Every spring, The Watershed Center hosts an Earth Day weekend beach clean up, and this April, volunteers in Traverse City removed around 250 pounds of garbage from the West End/Volleyball beaches.

Much of the debris was washed ashore over the winter and spring and included everything from boat cushions to pieces of decking. The number one category of trash though? Plastic.

“The typical things that we find are plastic debris,” says Smith. “Soda bottles and plastic fragments and food wrappers and films.”

Smith notes that this is a larger ongoing issue and that plastic pollution is much more prevalent than perhaps was once thought. “We used to think that plastic pollution used to be for really big metropolitan areas,” she says, “but we are finding it in Grand Traverse Bay in concentrations that are alarming.”

Ultimately Smith says that a clean beach relies on mindful beachgoers.

“We encourage folks to do their own clean up,” she says. Bringing a grocery bag to dispose of trash or picking up debris left by others can go a long way. Rethinking plastic consumption can also have lasting effects toward a healthier beach. “It’s an everyday action,” says Smith. “It’s really going to take all of us collectively to work on this issue.”

Q. How can we get involved? | A. Be an active advocate

Smith says that protecting and preserving our waterways is a collective effort.

“It’s up to all of us,” she says. “It’s our own individual actions and choices and advocacy. We can all make a difference.”

Noting the paramount importance of water to northern Michigan, Smith emphasizes that it’s the community surrounding this watershed that contributes toward its health and conservation. “Many folks come here because of the water. We just want to make sure that people are paying attention, are speaking up, and are making behavior changes.”

Smith highlights that one of the best ways to be an advocate and supporter is to be part of beach, river, and park cleanups. Those interested can check out the Dive In, Do Your Part portion of The Watershed Center’s website for a whole host of volunteer and education opportunities. And if you’re looking for a more physical way to contribute, you can join the Swim for Grand Traverse Bay, held Aug. 8, 2026. This open swim celebrates the health of Grand Traverse Bay and contributes funds to The Watershed Center.

Looking toward summer, beach going, and spending time on the water, Smith reminds everyone to be conscientious in choices and actions as we enjoy our time outside. “Its going to take all of us to protect and preserve Grand Traverse Bay into the future.”

Photo by Beth Price Photography

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