The Council originated in 1956 when a drought period caused severe water shortages in the Detroit Metropolitan area. A controversy between Wayne County and Detroit resulted in a National Sanitation Foundation study to survey present and future water resources and demands in the area.

At the same time, new industrial and subdivision development was occurring in Ann Arbor and eastern Washtenaw County. Water supply was sufficient, but pollution in the river was a growing problem, especially in the narrow part below Ann Arbor. The State Health Department studied the quality of the river and decided to restrict expansion of any sewage treatment plants.

Washtenaw County Planning Department was concerned about the impact of this policy on future development and asked the State Water Resources Commission to study the utilization of water in the watershed to help resolve water use and pollution concerns. Among the findings of the report, The Water Resource Conditions and Use in the Huron River Basin, was a recommendation that an agency was needed to evaluate the quality of the Huron River on a continuing basis. Public Act 200 of 1957 provided the basis for the local units of government to establish a cooperative information, research and consultative agency to tackle multi-unit problems. An agency, the Huron River Watershed Intergovernmental Committee (HRWIC), was formed in April 1958. Four counties, eight cities/villages, and twenty townships joined. The purpose of the HRWIC was to study mutual problems relating to water management and use in the Huron River Watershed. Its objective was to sponsor a series of studies that would lead to recommendations for review and action by member governmental units.

The studies focused on the biological and chemical characteristics of the river, groundwater geology and hydrology, and irrigation needs. Based on these studies, an engineering firm was hired to analyze waste disposal and water use in downstream portions of the Huron. Two important recommendations were made: 1) the level of treatment by existing sewage treatment plants needs to be increased; and 2) an agency should be established to coordinate development of a pollution control program in the watershed.

At the same time, the technical advisory committee of the HRWIC published A Water Use Policy Development Program that also strongly recommended the need for an organization to maintain surveillance of the Huron. Enabling state legislation was needed and UM Professor Lyle Craine and others worked to get Act 253 of Public Acts of 1964 passed, the Local River Management Act.

In 1965, seventeen governmental units petitioned the Water Resources Commission to establish the Huron River Watershed Council (HRWC). The petition was granted and in April 1965 the first Watershed Council in Michigan was formed. The office was moved from the County Building to 415 W. Washington in Ann Arbor and Jerome Fulton, a UM graduate student, was hired as a part-time Executive Secretary.

Members of the first Council included twenty-four units of government. The functions of the Council were to: 1) conduct studies; 2) give reports; 3) request the Water Resources Commission to survey the watershed to establish minimum levels of stream flow; 4) recommend establishment of a River Management District when needed; 5) advise agencies of problems and needs of the watershed; 6) cooperate with federal, state, and local agencies; 7) employ an executive secretary and such other personnel as needed and within budget; 8) form sub-committees or advisory committees as needed, and 9) seek special project funds as needed.

Since 1965 HRWC has grown to be a respected voice in the communities it serves and has built a reputation for working creatively and cooperatively to tackle the wide variety of issues facing the Huron River watershed. What follows is an overview of a few of HRWC’s accomplishments and milestones over the years.

Early Days
The 17 municipalities and counties that founded HRWC were primarily concerned with stream flow and flood control as they affected water supply and wastewater treatment capacity, but their representatives realized that this was just part of a much larger picture. During the early years an ambitious statement of goals was drafted and adopted as the study and activity program of the HRWC. These included wastewater disposal, storm water runoff, water supply, irrigation, recreation, protection of property values, conservation, wildlife, stream flow, flood control, water quality standards, continuing studies, public education, citizen participation, project and plan review, and watershed planning and management (whew! quite a list.). Other priorities of the first five years included emergency dam flow controls, flood damage avoidance (remember the flood of 1968?), fisheries improvement, inland lake and shoreland management, run-off quality control and land and water resource planning integration.

Since then, the council has served as a venue where local units of government and other stakeholders have discussed problems and sought solutions to these critical issues.

During the 1970’s, A Flow Advisory Network was established and a report on dam operation highlighted the need for a water supply and drought flow study. During that decade, informational meetings were held on flood forecasting and warning procedures, administration of the Lakes and Streams Act of 1972, and many related topics. Stream flow and flood control continue to be important concerns throughout the watershed as evidenced by the 2004 spring flooding problems in Ore Lake.

Because wastewater is returned to the river, wastewater treatment has always been a concern of HRWC. A map of discharge permits within the watershed was published in 1978, enabling local officials to look at the cumulative impact of contaminant loadings to the river. In the early 1980’s, HRWC assisted in discussions regarding a new wastewater treatment plant in Brighton and also organized a task force to examine the extent of onsite sewage disposal problems in the Portage-Baseline lakes area.

Studying the River
For over 40 years, HRWC has produced a significant number of scientific reports that individuals, agencies, and governments use to guide their decision-making. Studies have covered a broad range of topics including coliform bacteria monitoring, fisheries improvement, septic system influences on lakes, groundwater vulnerability, flood control, benthic macroinvertebrate communities, influences of various land uses on water quality, rapid wetland assessments, and existing and lost native ecosystems. These reports include “Flood Forecasting and Flood Warning Procedures in the Huron River Watershed,” “The Huron River Watershed, An Interpretation of its Characteristics,” “Phosphorus Reduction Strategy for the Middle Huron River Watershed,(1996)” and “The Mill Creek Subwatershed Management Plan, (2001).”

In 2003, HRWC created and successfully applied methodologies that help answer the question, “How much development is too much?” as it applies to impervious surfaces and gravel roads. A guidebook and the research behind it provide specific answers to this question in terms to which local government officials throughout the watershed and the rest of the state can readily relate.

Today HRWC’s science and policy experts respond daily to residents and government representatives to help them manage development in ways that protect creeks, wildlife, and natural features

Working in Washington and Lansing for Clean Water
HRWC has played an important role in the development and passage of statewide legislation aimed at protecting water resources. The Inland Lakes and Streams Act, the Natural Rivers Act, Michigan’s Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control Act, the Septage Waste Haulers Act, and many others have benefited from HRWC’s expertise and involvement.

In 1979, HRWC played a significant role in securing a Natural River Designation for portions of the Huron River between Kent Lake Dam and Dexter, plus portions of Davis creek, Arms Creek and Mill Creek. The Huron is the only river in Southeast Michigan to have a state-designated Natural River District.

Since the early 1990s, HRWC staff have received and reviewed permit applications for surface water discharges issued under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) in the Huron basin. Changes to the permits and even outright denial are sometimes the outcome of HRWC comments on applications.

Stream monitoring by volunteers
Volunteers were instrumental in establishing HRWC, and volunteers have continued to be the lifeblood of the organization. In 1992, the Adopt-A-Stream program began to recruit volunteers to monitor the quality of the Huron River. The first Adopt river study event saw 11 volunteers travel to Island Park in Ann Arbor for training and then to 6 sites for monitoring. The first Stonefly Search in January 1993 saw one volunteer turn up. Since those early days, the program’s ranks have swelled to over 400 volunteers measuring over 70 stream and river sites throughout the watershed and Stonefly Search has since proven to be our most popular event. These individuals assess habitat, aquatic invertebrates, water quality, flow, and channel shape, making the Huron one of the best-studied rivers in Michigan. The program is now the premiere citizen-monitoring network in the state, and the DEQ has contracted with HRWC to provide guidance and development assistance to stream and lake monitoring groups throughout Michigan through Michigan Clean Water Corps (MiCorps).

More than just the River
In the early 1990s HRWC began working with communities to protect groundwater that supplies municipal drinking water. HRWC’s award-winning “Community Guide to Wellhead Protection” has helped hundreds of Michigan communities protect their drinking water. The guide is now being used a national model.

Educating the public
From the beginning, HRWC has sought to inform the public about the problems and opportunities to protect our valuable water resource. In the 1970's there were public information meetings as well as testimony and comments made before government bodies considering water issues. In 1985 HRWC produced a slide show on "Lakefront Living". In 1995 HRWC developed and began implementation of its award-winning media campaign aimed at changing behaviors to keep our water safe and clean. The campaign’s advertisements, direct mail pieces, and images are recognizable throughout the watershed and are effective at changing individual behaviors to protect the watershed.

In addition, HRWC offers courses for citizens, businesses, and planners on how to effectively engage themselves in the land use planning process to protect water quality.

The Huron River Watershed Council works to inspire people to protect the Huron River system. HRWC's nine-person staff and hundreds of volunteers participate in programs that cover pollution prevention, hands-on citizen education and river monitoring, natural resource planning, public education and information, and wetland and floodplain protection.

Organizational Growth
Over the years HRWC has grown from a half-time executive secretary to occasional full-time staff in the 1970s to 1980s, then three to four staff members in the 1990s and now HRWC has nine staff people.

HRWC’s membership of has kept pace, too. HRWC, with 16 original member governments, reached an all-time high of 39 member governments in 2005.

HRWC was established as an "instrumentality of the State of Michigan" with membership limited to governments throughout the watershed. In 1987, HRWC gained 501(c)(3) nonprofit status and began to admit individual and business members. Currently, 800 individual members and 65 business members belong to the organization.

The resources of HRWC have also grown over the past 40 years allowing the breadth and depth of work to expand. The original budget of HRWC was $16,300 in 1967 and is now $750,000.

Last Updated: February 2006