Check out the full report here: Final Report for 2017 Jordan River Discharge Monitoring

The Jordan River continues to score generally excellent grades on the quality of its waters, according to results released this spring by the Great Lakes Environmental Center [GLEC].

The Friends of the Jordan River Watershed retained GLEC in 2017 to test five study sites along the Jordan, which include Deer Creek, Bennett Creek, Green River, and downstream and upstream of the ELIZABETH DEKORNE federal Jordan River Fish Hatchery. GLEC staff conducted macroinvertebrate, habitat and algal assessments at each of the sites following Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s [MDEQ] Procedure 51, which describes qualitative biological and habitat survey protocols for wadeable streams.

“All five study sites rated as Acceptable when assessing the macroinvertebrate community and Excellent when assessing the habitat,” the GLEC report concluded. “Deer Creek scored slightly lower during the macroinvertebrate assessment than the other four sites most likely due to the absence of stoneflies at this location and the dominance of one taxa (the mayfly Baetidae). The high percentage of sandy substrate and low percent-age of coarser substrates such as gravel and cobble would inhibit the colonization of stoneflies. Bennett Creek, the Green River and the Jordan River consisted of a mix of sand, gravel, and cobble, and as a result supported multiple families of mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies at each site. The algal community assessment identified two species present in high proportions at all sites as well as multiple other species contributing to the unique community composition at each site.”

The study was designed to establish baseline data and trend analysis at the five sites in order to observe and document any significant changes in the water quality of the Jordan River, according to FOJ President Dave Peterson, who thanks all who have donated to the FOJ to make the assessment possible.

Check out the 2016 report here:Final Report for 2016 Jordan River Bioassessment Study