Bay City, Michigan 48706
Front Page 03/28/2024 05:16 About us
www.mybaycity.com April 29, 2016
(Prior Story)   Columns ArTicle 10408   (Next Story)


Muck comprised of possibly dangerous algae "mats" is piled up on the Saginaw Bay shore in this photo by NOAA.

EXPENSIVE MUCK: Loss of Swimming Beach Costs $228K Per Day

Seasonal Tourism Loss at State Park Could Be Up To $27.4 Million

April 29, 2016       1 Comments
By: Dave Rogers

Printer Friendly Story View

We all know muck on the shore of the Bay City State Recreation Area is a problem.

And that any attempt to remove the muck is likely to find opposition from state and federal environmental officials attempting to safeguard natural aspects of the shoreline.

But could the reduction of tourism on that formerly attractive swimming beach really cost as much as $27.4 million per summer season?

Yes, if estimates of the cost of beach closings cited by a Michigan State University water quality expert, Dr. Joan Rose, are on the mark.

At an Earth Day event last Friday, Dr. Rose described the health factors leading to beach closures and cited estimates of cost at $228,000 in unrealized tourism each day a beach is closed.

Dr. Rose said muck traps dangerous germs in human and animal waste that can have explosively unhealthy effects, besides being horribly unsightly and smelly.

Given a four-month summer season, if muck is keeping swimmers off the beach and depressing tourism, the costs could mount to nearly $30 million.

Save Our Shoreline volunteers Ernie Krygier and Kim Coonan have wrestled with the muck and other issues at the beach for years but up to now there has been no dollar estimate of the actual cost.

Granted, the State Park beach is not actually closed because of the muck, and Bay County officials have tried a variety of ways to deal with the unpleasant algae "mats" that comprise the muck, and some swimmers brave the messy environment. And a variety of ways to bridge the muck has been proposed. But there is little doubt if the muck was gone the appeal of the beach would be vastly improved.

Dr. Rose recommended the muck be removed, action that may put local officials in conflict with state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regulations barring tampering with natural elements on beaches.

"In several regions of the Great Lakes, including Saginaw Bay, muck is a problem," states a report by the Michigan Sea Grant Project. "It has been blamed for poor water quality and economic losses -- and it's not a new issue. Records of muck in Saginaw Bay go back to the 1960s, but other accounts mention problem muck as far back as the 1920s."

Muck is a common term for mats composed of different types of algae, other aquatic plants (macrophytes) and decomposing organic matter that forms in the water or washes up on shore, the report states, adding:

"The muck in Saginaw Bay is thought to be the result of excess nutrients in the system (for example, phosphorous from fertilizers or sewage from combined sewer overflows), though changes in the food web, particularly those caused by invasive mussels, likely add to the problem."

Because this is a persistent and complex problem, Michigan Sea Grant funded a research team to perform an Integrated Assessment about the muck in Saginaw Bay.

Wayne State University Associate Professor Donna Kashian heads a group compiling a new report called "Where people meet the muck: An integrated assessment of beach muck and public perception at the Bay City State Recreation Area, Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron -- Management options."

The core research question is: "What are the causes, consequences and possible ways to address the muck problem at the Bay City State Recreation Area in Saginaw Bay, and what is the public perception of this issue?"

Muck has been a perennial issue for years at the state park, where local people, especially shoreline dwellers, have battled federal and state regulators to allow them to clean muck from the beach.

Bay County Board of Commissioners Chairman Ernie Krygier, a leader of the beach-cleaning effort, was one of the people to meet with the Kashian and study co-author Darrin Hunt at the Delta College Planetarium and Learning Center in downtown Bay City.

Krygier said after the meeting that federal and state regulations about muck removal and beach cleaning need to be relaxed, according to a news article by Clark Hughes of MLive.com.

No doubt Commissioner Krygier is absolutely right. Perhaps the next move should be for the Wayne State team to convene a meeting of all interested parties and mediate a settlement between local officials, shore dwellers and state and federal environmental authorities.

Well, that's exactly what the study project calls for: "Using the Integrated Assessment (IA) framework, the research team will summarize what is currently known about muck-related conditions at the Bay City State Recreation Area (BCSRA), including the social and economic impacts of muck at the park and on the Saginaw Bay Region as a whole. The project will build off the five-year Saginaw Bay Multiple Stressors Project that started in 2007 and focused on evaluating different stressors and their effects on Saginaw Bay.

"Engaging people who are affected by the muck -- the stakeholders -- is a priority. The target audience includes key decision makers from local, state, federal and non-government organizations in the region, as well as individuals with an interest in the muck-related issues at the park and in the Bay.

"The team will ask for stakeholder input using a suite of models, interviews, surveys and meetings. The results of the IA will provide stakeholders with a shared understanding of what is currently known about the muck and options for managing the effects of muck.

"Ultimately, the assessment will help the research team identify a series of feasible short-term and long-term management actions that could help alleviate and better manage the effects of muck."

What can we say, except: Hallelujah!!!

###

Printer Friendly Story View
Prior Article

February 10, 2020
by: Rachel Reh
Family Winter Fun Fest is BACC Hot Spot for 2/10/2020
Next Article

February 2, 2020
by: Kathy Rupert-Mathews
MOVIE REVIEW: "Just Mercy" ... You Will Shed Tears, or at Least You Should

"The BUZZ" - Read Feedback From Readers!

tennis1960 Says:       On May 01, 2016 at 10:55 AM
Looks like Bay City has "Run a muck" with the problems of solving the Bay City State Park problem and as a former resident of that area in the 70's it was then as it is today a very "Mucky" problem. I would that that is in the best interest of the state as a whole to solve this problem and create a new resource of income for a starving and needed stream of revenue for Bay County. Good muck or should I say "Good Luck". Great article and as usual great read. Keep them coming Buck!
Agree? or Disagree?


Dave Rogers

Dave Rogers is a former editorial writer for the Bay City Times and a widely read,
respected journalist/writer in and around Bay City.
(Contact Dave Via Email at carraroe@aol.com)

More from Dave Rogers

Send This Story to a Friend!       Letter to the editor       Link to this Story
Printer-Friendly Story View


--- Advertisments ---
     


0200 Nd: 03-24-2024 d 4 cpr 0






12/31/2020 P3v3-0200-Ad.cfm

SPONSORED LINKS



12/31/2020 drop ads P3v3-0200-Ad.cfm


Designed at OJ Advertising, Inc. (V3) (v3) Software by Mid-Michigan Computer Consultants
Bay City, Michigan USA
All Photographs and Content Copyright © 1998 - 2024 by OJA/MMCC. They may be used by permission only.
P3V3-0200 (1) 0   ID:Default   UserID:Default   Type:reader   R:x   PubID:mbC   NewspaperID:noPaperID
  pid:1560   pd:11-18-2012   nd:2024-03-24   ax:2024-03-28   Site:5   ArticleID:10408   MaxA: 999999   MaxAA: 999999
claudebot