Traver Creek Project Update #8

The excavation of Traver Creek through the golf course as well as the excavation of the arrowood drain are complete. These areas have been seeded with a native plant mixture and covered with straw mulch blankets. The crossings have been fabricated and are usable. Rough grading of most of the spoil pils on the golf course is complete. There are three major piles that still need rough grading, the berm along Traver Road, the hill between #18 tee and #10 fairway as well as the hill to the west of #14 tee.

All of the spoil piles need final grading as well as seeding of the turfgrass varieties. Sod will be laid along #11 fairway, #10 tee and fairway as well as any area where haul roads crossed fairways. Some of these areas include #14, #16, #13 and possibly #18.

Golf Course staff are looking at finalizing plans for tree replacement. There are over 100 trees that are budgeted to be planted after the ground thaws.

One other major assignment will be the repair and replacement of damaged irrigation pipe and heads that either needed to be moved or were damaged during construction.

Most of this work cannot be acomplished during sub-freezing weather, so the construction crew will be taking some time off and will be back in a couple of weeks.

Here are some photos of Traver Creek about to crest above the "low flow channel" and into the "high flow channel." This allows the water to signifcantly slow down and deposit sediment that it has picked up before finally making it to the Huron River.

Near #12 green.

From #13 tee. #10 tee is the large mound of soil to the right of the creek.

Looking from the bridge near #13 tee toward the practice green.

The convergance of the new arrowood drain and Traver Creek.

Traver Creek Water Testing

As a matter of keeping up with Leslie Park's Audubon International Co-Operative Sanctuary Program, we take water samples from Traver Creek on a quarterly basis. We also work with the Leslie Science and Nature Center on many projects. Today, we were able to blend those two things into one learning experience for some 3rd and 4th grade students.

 LSNC hosts summer camps for elementary school students and we have been trying to encourage the instructors to utilize  the golf course as a giant laboratory. Recently, Stefan Szumko joined Ric Lawson from the Huron River Watershed Council to have Stefan's summer campers do some testing near the pond on #12. Ric and the HRWC have agreed to do more monitoring of Traver Creek in preparation for the streambank stabilization project that will happen this winter and thought it would be a great idea to have some of the young kids assist in the data gathering.

Ric addresses the students before going down to stream level.

Stefan gets his feet wet to do some temperature readings.

Stefan uses a meter to test pH.

Traver Creek Streambank Stabilization

The City of Ann Arbor (which owns Leslie Park Golf Course), in partnership with the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner's Office, has proposed a streambank stabilization project for Traver Creek, which runs through Leslie Park. This project will be financed through the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality's State Revolving Loan Fund. There is an opportunity for up to 50% of the cost of the project to be forgiven depending on the level of environmentally sound practices utilized during restoration. The funding would come out of the city and county stormwater budgets over the next 20 years. The city of Ann Arbor is at the forefront of municipalities in the state of Michigan in using stormwater funds to proactively manage water courses to positively effect stormwater quality during high-precipitation events. What this means is that the city uses these funds to ecologically manage surface water instead of just fixing broken or damaged sewers.

The goals of the project are functional (by improving stormwater infrastructure), ecological (sediment removal, phosphorous reduction and habitat improvement) and recreational (improving aesthetics on the golf course). The golf course will be partnering with the city water quality manager and the county's water resources office as well as Ann Arbor's Natural Areas Preservation Division and the Huron River Watershed Council to make sure that this project meets the environmental goals that have been set forth.

The Spicer Group has been brought aboard to develop a plan and assess the hydrologic, hydraulic and geomorphic conditions that occur on Traver Creek. If all goes according to plan, construction will begin in November 2012, with major construction completed before April 2013. A major consideration for all parties involved is to impact golf as little as possible. Although the construction will be complete, it could take up to two full seasons before Traver Creek and the habitat surrounding the creek areas fully mature. During the first season, most of the banks will be populated by grasses whose primary purpose is to hold the soil in place while the perennial native plants take hold.

It is important to note that at this point, no plans have been finalized, so it is nearly impossible to know what the final project will look like or involve. A write-up of the proposal that was brought before the Ann Arbor Parks Advisory Committee was featured in the Ann Arbor Chronicle.

Below are some photos of the erosion and overflow problems that we have seen. You may remember a similar, though much smaller scale, project from the Summer of 2010. You can find out more HERE. I will keep you updated on this exciting project as we know more.

Phosphorus Reductions in the Huron River Watershed

Phosphorus Reductions in the Huron Get Noticed

In 2007 the Huron River Watershed Council (HRWC) recommended that phosphorous fertilizers not be used within the watershed. The purpose was to cut down on the amount of phosphorous, a major factor in algae blooms, in the Huron River. The City of Ann Arbor adopted this as a city regulation, and as such, Leslie Park has not used any phosphorous fertilizers since. In December 2010 Michigan lawmakers passed legislation (HB-5368) that extended this regulation statewide. The new regulations and limitations will go into effect Jan. 1, 2012.

In 2010 the HRWC conducted a Water Quality Monitoring Program that showed a 28% drop in phosphorus in Ann Arbor tributaries — including Traver Creek, which runs through Leslie Park Golf Course.

I am proud to say that total phosphorus has declined in each of the three survey periods and compares favorably with other tributaries in the Huron watershed. This may be due to the fact that Traver Creek's watershed is not as developed as other tributaries, but it still shows the golf course is not a major contributor to phosphorus in the Huron River.

This is supported by the water sampling we do quarterly. How we do it is detailed in a previous post HERE. In short, we take water tests from the pond on #17 (where Traver Creek enters the property) and from the pond on #12 (where the creek leaves the golf course). These tests, which we have done since 2009, confirm the golf course does not add to the nutrients in the creek. In fact, most of the tests show a decrease of the elements that are sampled. This is a very good sign that the fertilizer and chemicals we use on the golf course are used in a responsible way. We avoid applying fertilizers near water and have buffer strips near the creek to filter runoff that may occur.

Traver Creek Survey

As part of the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program certification process, we are required to do water quality sampling and testing.  We have our samples tested by AnaLync.  They test for such things as calcium, sodium, nitrate, phosphate, chloride as well as other nutrients.  We do this for a number of reasons.  One of the biggest is that the stream that runs through the golf golf course, Traver Creek, is part of the Huron River watershed and as such, anything that gets into the water at the golf course will, eventually make it's way into the Huron and from there, into the Great Lakes.

Our water tests are taken from the pond on #17, where Traver Creek enters the property and from the pond on #12, where the creek leaves the golf course. These tests, which we have done since 2009, show that the golf course does not add to the nutrients in the creek. In fact, most of the tests show a decrease of the elements that are sampled. This is a very good sign that the fertilizer and chemicals that we use on the golf course are used in a responsible way.  We avoid applying fertilizers near water and have buffer strips near the creek that will filter runoff that may occur.

In 2007 the Huron River Watershed Council recommended that phosphorous fertilizers not be used within the watershed. This was in order to cut down on the amount of phosphorous, a major factor in algae blooms, in the Huron River. The City of Ann Arbor adopted this as a city regulation and as such, Leslie Park has not used any phosphorous fertilizers since.  In December 2010, Michigan lawmakers passed legislation (HB-5368) that extend this regulation state-wide. The new regulations and limitations will go into effect on January 1, 2012.

We also have the good fortune of working with Dr. Hannah-Maria Jacques and the Peter G. Meier Water Quality Survey. This is a self-funded study that documents the benthic diversity of Traver Creek and has sampled for macroinvertabrates since 2003. According to Dr. Jacques, the amount of insects and other aquatic animals is greater than previously reported by the Huron River Watershed Council.