A GVSU project examining the salt content of three lakes in East Grand Rapids revealed concerning data that prompted researchers to expand their work to lakes across West Michigan this summer.
Researchers at the Robert B. Annis Water Resources Institute in Muskegon measured salt levels within 50 West Michigan lakes, determining the effects of salt runoff from area roads and revealing a surprising discovery as a result.
“There's been a recognition that there's been an increase in the amount of road salt being applied in the United States for road safety, particularly in the northern latitudes over the last 50 years,” said Al Steinman, the AWRI’s Allen and Helen Hunting Research Professor.
“In the last 10 years, there's been an increasing recognition that the salt is getting into our waterways — not just our lakes, but our rivers, our groundwater and our wetlands.”
The study, led by Steinman and assistant professor Sean Woznicki, was funded by the U.S. Geological Survey. Samples from 50 lakes across a five-county area — Lake, Mason, Muskegon, Newaygo and Oceana — were analyzed.
“When a lake becomes full of too much salt, we see changes in the salinity that can impact the organisms living in the lake,” said adjunct research assistant Katie Tyrrell.
“Salt water is denser than fresh water, so you have salt pollution that ends up settling to the bottom of the lake that can prevent the lake from turning over and mixing like it normally would.”
Unlike the East Grand Rapids study, which showed significant salt contamination at the bottom of Church Lake, this summer’s project found little pollution in the other lakes.
“We were very surprised,” Steinman said. “We were very pleased that the problem wasn't as pervasive as we thought it was.”
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