Middle 1 Rouge Storm Water Management Area

Hydrology.  Monitoring at Haggerty Road (US10) in the Middle 1 began in September 2002 so a full season of data was not available at this location.   The monitoring site at Inkster Road (US2) in the Middle 3, which is approximately 9.2 river miles downstream from Haggerty Road (US10), can still be used as a good indication of streamflow conditions in the Middle 1.  At this stream gage, the mean streamflow recorded in 2002 was one of the three lowest recorded since 1994 and was 72 percent of the 1994 through 2001 average.  The mean streamflow during the 2000 monitoring period remained the highest recorded since 1994.  In the Middle since 1994, 2000 remained the wettest season on record and 2002 was the driest season on record. The precipitation total in 2002 was 62 percent of the long-term average precipitation total for 1994 through 2001.    

Water Quality.  Continuous DO and water temperature monitoring in the Middle 1, at Haggerty Road (US10), began in September 2002, so a full season of data were not available at this location.   As a result, the annual mean of 10.5 mg/L does not reflect the data collected during warm summer months when the DO is typically lower and sufficient data have not been collected to perform a trend analysis for DO.  For the two month period of monitoring in 2002, all values met the DO State standard of 5 mg/L.  Continuous temperature monitoring did not exceed a maximum temperature of 29.4°C (85°F). 

E. coli.  Although E. coli bacteria levels in the Middle 1 have been better than most the SWMAs in the Rouge Watershed, there have still been a substantial percentage of measurements above the State water quality standards for both total and partial body contact recreation.  Overall, concentrations of E. coli bacteria have not changed substantially in the Middle 1 SWMA since 1994.