Dr. Al Steinman's team with the Annis Water Resources Institute of Grand Valley State University continues their work on the Muskegon Lake Long-Monitoring Program. The program provides the community with an assessment of key indicators of water quality for the Muskegon Lake Watershed. Started in 2003 as a baseline, the program allows us to see what improvements are being made through restoration projects. And so far results from the monitoring program have been encouraging - consistently showing improvement to the ecological health of the Muskegon Lake Watershed. The program’s monitoring and documenting of water quality indicators also provides the community with a safeguard against potential environmental harms that could arise from developmental and industrial projects in the area.

The program’s monitoring of Muskegon Lake consists of performing a series of ecologically relevant scientific tests at 6 different locations on Muskegon Lake performed 3 times per year. 

The monitoring performed consists of a series of physical and chemical tests at the 6 sites on Muskegon Lake. Site monitoring begins with a light absorption assessment at various depths (light absorption is an indicator of water clarity). The second test performed is water sampling for nutrient content and other chemical properties such as alkalinity. The third test performed measures a variety of physical and chemical properties including water oxygen content (adequate dissolved oxygen levels are needed to sustain aquatic life). The fourth and final test is sediment sampling for invertebrates (bugs) from the bottom of Muskegon Lake with a Ponar Grab Sampler.

For more information on the Muskegon Lake Long-Monitoring Program you can visit their website here - and monitoring results at their dashboard.

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