Anchor Bay Watershed

The Anchor Bay Watershed Plan was first completed in December 2003, and was last revised and improved to 319 federal funding status in 2006.

The Watershed Plan examines water quality data from Anchor Bay and its streams, the land use and water quality practices of municipalties and the two counties that comprise the watershed. The Watershed Plan makes recommendations for water quality improvements. Local municipalities and county government are currently implementing this plan and currently meet approximately every other month to discuss progress and future projects.

Future Meeting Agendas and 9.31.08 - 10.1.09 Meeting Minutes

Archive Meeting Minutes - 9.31.07 - 10.1.08

The Anchor Bay Watershed is 171 square miles on the edge of the St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair.

Although much of the flow to the bay comes from the St. Clair River, the major streams draining the watershed include:  

• St. Clair County: Beaubien Creek, Marsac Creek, Swan Creek, the Marine City Dredge Cut, Swartout Creek.
• Macomb County: Auvase Creek, Crapau Creek, and the Salt River.

The bay encompasses 38,000 acres of wetland habitat for fish and wildlife, including St. Johns Marsh, a 2,500-acre coastal wetland located in Clay and Ira Townships.

Data indicates that the Anchor Bay Watershed population will increase 40 percent and households will increase by almost 58% between 2000 and 2030. The anticipated increase in imperviousness and decrease in land areas, which provide natural treatment and storage of storm water runoff, will tend to increase the harmful impacts on the watercourses with respect to flow quantity, sediment, nutrients, bacteria, and chemical contaminants.

As the land develops degredation of local waterways can be prevented by a number of strategies: Best Management Practices to prevent pollution, land use planning tools, such as "Low Impact Development", that limits impervious surfaces and increases filtering and storage of storm water.

Anchor Bay Fall Field Work
Field work was performed as part of developing the Watershed Plan and continues today for evaluating progress. Here are pictures of two creeks we regularily monitor.