Water Quality Programs
Water Quality Programs in Your Community
Adopt-A-Stream
Begun in 1990 in partnership with the Washtenaw County Drain Commissioner, the Huron River Watershed Council's Adopt-A-Stream Program enables people to monitor the quality of the Huron River through a scientifically based, hands-on study. The Program provides educational experiences about the structure and sensitivity of streams, and about actions needed to protect and improve the quality of the river system.
Malletts Creek Restoration Project
To reduce pollution, flooding and erosion, Janis Bobrin, Washtenaw County Drain Commissioner, has recently initiated a restoration planning effort to help repair and restore Malletts. The City of Ann Arbor and Pittsfield Township are partners.
Mary Beth Doyle Park
During 2006-2007 Mary Beth Doyle Park, formerly Brown Park, was reconstructed to improve water quality in Malletts Creek. Plans include a treatment wetland, redesigned golf course, increased parking, an all access walking loop, and native landscaping. This program is a collaborative effort with the City of Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation Department.
Huron River Watershed Plan 
The Watershed Plan for the Huron River in the Ann Arbor – Ypsilanti Metropolitan Area, which was written in 1994 and last updated in March of 2000, provides a long-term strategy to preserve and protect the County’s most prominent waterway. This year, the Office of the Washtenaw County Drain Commissioner and the Huron River Watershed Council will again review and update this document to reflect the current state of the river system, and identify strategies to improve the quality of our shared resource.
DNA Source Tracking of E. coli
The Huron River (Geddes Pond) was placed on the Section 303(d) list due to impairment of recreational uses resulting from elevated levels of pathogens. The impaired segment is located within a highly urbanized area and receives much of the storm water runoff from the City of Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan via local tributaries and direct discharge to the river. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality provided grant funding to the Washtenaw County Drain Commissioner to apply library-based genotypic bacteria source tracking (BST) technology within the municipal storm sewer system (MS4) to identify and quantify species-specific sources of E. coli. The project goals were addressed through the collection and analysis of samples of storm water from two locations in the MS4 and reference material (scat) from various species known to be present near those locations. The sampling from this project generated both quantitative and bacteria source tracking analytical results.
Allen's Creek Stormwater Initiative
Recognizing that flooding, erratic flow and water quality are problems in Allen\'s Creek, the Drain Commissioner and the City of Ann Arbor are collaborating on a program to identify and implement cost-effective, practical solutions. Individual efforts such as rain gardens / rain barrels will be explored, as well as infrastructure projects: bio-infiltration, constructed wetlands, porous pavement, mechanical treatment, and above and below-ground detention. Partners include: Ann Arbor Public Schools, University of Michigan, Allen’s Creek Watershed Group, Allen Creek Greenway Conservancy, Friends of West Park, Huron River Watershed Council, and Peter Allen & Associates.
Community Partners For Clean Streams is a cooperative effort between the Washtenaw County Drain Commissioner's Office and Washtenaw County businesses and institutions with a common goal to promote business practices that protect Washtenaw County's watersheds and waterways.
RiverSafe Homes Program
The Drain Commissioner has created the RiverSafe Homes program to enable Washtenaw County residents to identify water quality protection activities they currently practice around their homes, and to commit to additional pollution prevention practices that they may not have considered before. They then receive a “RiverSafe Home” decal to display at their home. With over 138,000 households currently in Washtenaw County, the RiverSafe Homes Program has a great “cumulative effect” opportunity to inform residents about water quality protection while reducing pollutants in Washtenaw County waterways. 
Rain Gardens A recent grant was so well received, it inspired an ongoing program to install rain gardens throughtout the county. These gardens are sunken, rather than raised, and drink the water running off nearby rooftops. Instead of draining off to a nearby creek, the captured water is either used by the plants, or infiltrated to recharge groundwater.
Homeowner Handbook
Washtenaw County Drain Commissioner's Guide to water quality protection for homeowner associations & households.
