AWRI, community partnerships lead to restoration milestone for Muskegon Lake

For nearly four decades, GVSU’s Annis Water Resources Institute has been at the forefront of researching and studying Muskegon Lake. 

That work reached a historic milestone on October 1, when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officially removed the lake from its Areas of Concern list after years of contamination and cleanup.

Representatives and officials from the EPA, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy along with community and regional development commissions gathered for the landmark occasion at Heritage Landing in Muskegon. 

Beginning in the late 19th century, industrial pollutants from surrounding sawmills, tanneries and foundries permeated the lake for decades. Extensive remediation and restoration efforts followed, supported in large part by the AWRI’s research experience and expertise, said Al Steinman, AWRI’s Allen and Helen Hunting Research Professor.

"We provided the science for the last 30 years to underpin the basic restoration activities that went on in the lake,” Steinman said. “Even before I arrived at GVSU in 2001 and the AWRI was still on the Allendale campus, we had people working on the lake. 

“Janet Vail and Rick Rediske were doing really critical work, and then of course when we moved out here to Muskegon, it was a catalyst for getting more involved." 

Muskegon Lake was designated as one of 43 Great Lakes Areas of Concern by the EPA in 1985. To receive the designation, the lake originally had nine of the 14 qualifying beneficial use impairments, Steinman said.

"We have been monitoring the water quality of Muskegon Lake since 2003,” Steinman said. “We know whether it's getting better or getting worse over time. We're looking at what causes the harmful algae blooms and stopping them. 

“One of the biggest issues was dealing with the contaminated sediment in the lake, and the work particularly that Rick Rediske did early on, basically cataloging what kind of contaminants were there, and what was the appropriate way of either removing them or capping them. That was absolutely essential in making sure that the lake became healthy."

Erin Kuhn, executive director of the West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission, commended the AWRI for its commitment in protecting the lake’s health.

"This has been something our community has been working on for so, so long,” Kuhn said. “I want to thank Grand Valley State University and all the research that they have done to help back the projects that we've done. We created a vision, and we followed that vision, and we revisited that throughout the last 30 years to get to where we are today."

Stuart Jones, the AWRI’s executive director, said while the EPA’s announcement was gratifying, there remains ongoing work in monitoring the lake. 

“We've got local and regional and federal groups working really hard for a long, long time to document along with the help from AWRI these positive changes that have happened in the environment,” Jones said. 

“There's still a long road to go, but it's great to see a victory at a large scale like this, and it's really energized me in taking on the next phase of running AWRI and being a partner here at GVSU."