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| Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Special Report No. 22, 1998. ROUGE RIVER ASSESSMENTJennifer D. Beam
and Jeffrey J. Braunscheidel EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
 This
report is one of a series of river assessments being prepared by Fisheries
Division of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for Michigan rivers.
This document describes the hydrologic characteristics and biological communities
of the Rouge River and its watershed in southeast Michigan.This
assessment's purposes are first, to identify opportunities and solve problems
concerning aquatic resources and fisheries values within the watershed.
Second, to provide a way for public involvement in fishery management decisions.
Third, to provide an organized reference for Fisheries Division personnel,
other agencies and groups, and citizens who need information about a particular
fishery resource.This
document consists of four parts: an introduction, a river assessment, management
options, and public comments and responses. The river assessment is the
nucleus of the manuscript. In thirteen sections (geography, history, biological
communities, geology and hydrology, channel morphology, dams and barriers,
soils and land use patterns, bridges and other stream crossings, special
jurisdictions, water quality, recreational use, fishery management, and
citizen involvement) we describe the characteristics of the Rouge River
and its watershed.In the
management options we identify a variety of management problems and opportunities.
Three types of options for responding to opportunities or problems are proposed.
The first are opportunities to protect and preserve existing resources.
The second require additional surveys or data gathering. The third are chances
to rehabilitate degraded resources. Opportunities to improve an area or
resource, above and beyond the original condition, are listed last. The
options listed are not necessarily recommended by Fisheries Division, but
are intended to provide a foundation for public discussion and comment and
the selection of objectives for managing the Rouge River and its fisheries.The
Rouge River is located in southeastern Michigan and empties into the Detroit
River, about midway between Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie. Its watershed
is within portions of three counties: Wayne, Oakland, and Washtenaw. It
is composed of a mainstem and three major branches, the Upper, Middle, and
Lower Rouge rivers.Discussions
of the river begin at the headwaters of the mainstem, and continue through
each of the branches. Any notable differences in the mainstem, between the
confluences of successive branches, are mentioned as they join the mainstem.More
than 60 fish species are native to the Rouge River drainage, and the original
potamodromous species can be inferred from historical records of neighboring
river systems. European settlement of the watershed began in the late 1600s.
This began a series of many deliberate and inadvertent changes to the river's
fish communities. The Rouge River now contains at least 53 fish species.
Many native species are still present and abundant; a number have declined
severely and are rare; one is considered threatened (redside dace); one
has been extirpated (blue pike).Diversity
of fish species is relatively low. The fish and aquatic invertebrate communities
are typical of those found in aquatic systems under stress. Game fish species
are few, and individuals are small. This is in part due to the small size
of the watershed (467 square miles), and to human influences on the river.
These influences include degraded water quality from sewage and storm water,
sedimentation and erosion, widely variable flows, fragmentation from dams,
paving and channelization of the stream channel near the mouth, and in-stream
and riparian habitat destruction.Rivers
exist as patterns of water flow. The geology and hydrology of the watershed
define the system. They determine the patterns of water flow over a landscape,
reflecting watershed conditions and influenced by climate. The surficial
geology of the watershed is defined by a former lake bed (or plain). Although
portions of the headwaters are located in glacial outwash, most of the watershed
is former lake plain. This affects availability of ground water to the system,
topography of the land, and permeability and erosivity of the bed and banks.
Flow stability is a determining factor in ecological and evolutionary processes.
Flows are looked at annually, seasonally, and daily. The most stable streams
in Michigan, the Au Sable, Manistee, and Jordan rivers rarely flood nor
have low flows that are less than 80% of average. The Rouge River is very
unstable, with annual flow peaks of 20-90 times base flows, summer base
flows below 10 cubic feet per second (cfs), and daily fluctuations of over
500 cfs after rain events. These fluctuations destabilize banks, create
abnormally large moving sediment bedloads, dislodge and destroy habitat,
strand and kill organisms, and interfere with recreational uses of the river.Gradient
(defined as the drop in elevation over a specified length of river) helps
determine the energy that water in the stream has to exert on its bed and
banks. Stream power is a combination of gradient and discharge of water
in a stream. Steeper gradients increase flow velocity, which in turn exert
change upon channel depth, width, meandering, and sediment transport. The
average gradient of the mainstem is 4.9 feet per mile. Average slopes for
the major tributaries are Upper (21.0 ft/mi), Middle (11.2 ft/mi), and Lower
Rouge (10.9 ft/mi). The gradient is naturally changing along any given river
reach, which creates diverse types of channels and therefore different kinds
of habitat for fish and other aquatic life. The best river habitat offers
variety that supports different life functions of species. Fish and other
aquatic life are typically most diverse and productive in river sections
with gradient between 10 and 69.9 ft/mi. Unfortunately, such gradients are
rare in Michigan due to the low-relief landscape. Areas of high gradient
are also most likely to have been dammed or channelized. The mainstem of
the Rouge River contains only 6.1 miles (13%) of the most desirable gradient;
the Upper Branch fairs better, with 6.2 miles (44%) in this range; the Middle
Branch has over 7 miles (28%), and the Lower Branch has 3.4 miles (14%).
In most occurrences, the steepest gradient is located in areas with the
least discharge - the headwaters.The
river system is highly fragmented by dams, 62 to date; 26 are on the mainstem
and its headwater tributaries, 12 in the Upper Branch watershed, 18 in the
Middle Branch watershed, and 6 in the Lower Branch watershed. The majority
of the dams are on headwater tributaries, usually in areas of most desirable
gradient, water quality, and habitat. Headwater streams are the source of
nutrients and aquatic invertebrates (important food for fish), which tend
to migrate downstream throughout their life span. Streams and their floodplains
are frequently used as storm water detention areas, to the detriment of
the system health. Two dams are especially devastating, isolating the watershed
from the Detroit River (and Lake Erie ecosystem); these are at Wayne Road
in Wayne on the Lower Rouge River and at the Henry Ford Estate in Dearborn
on the mainstem.In combination
with climate, soils and land use help decide much of the hydrology and channel
form in the river. Changes in land use are often the force that drives change
in river habitats. The Rouge River watershed is now dominated by urban and
suburban development. This type of land use has a dramatic affect on aquatic
environments through increased erosion, drainage of wetlands, channelization
of streams, destabilization of water flow, and increases in impervious land
area that increase surface water, decrease ground water (never a large component
in this watershed), and increase temperature.As the
most densely developed watershed in the state, the Rouge River is crossed
by bridges and other stream crossings (i.e., utilities) approximately 1,950
times. Each crossing is a potential source of sedimentation, erosion, contamination,
and constriction or relocation of stream channel. Although efforts are being
made to minimize degradation to the environment during construction of stream
crossings, the potential negative effects remain.Degraded
water quality remains one of the most important impediments to overall river
health. Dissolved oxygen levels, temperatures, and nutrient enrichment are
water quality parameters considered important to fisheries. Considering
these parameters, the mainstem and three major branches have poor to fair
water quality, with some headwater tributaries showing fair to good water
quality. Conditions generally decline from upstream to downstream. The Lower
Rouge River has the worst water quality of the four branches and the mainstem
downstream of its confluence with the Lower Rouge River is only slightly
better. Unfortunately most sections have identifiable degradation of water
quality parameters important to aquatic organisms. Surface water contamination
contributing to these degradations comes from both point and nonpoint sources.
Contributions from over 150 combined sewer overflows (CSOs) affects the
stream due to volume (over 10 billion gallons per year) and composition.The
Rouge River has tremendous recreational potential due to its proximity to
the population of Detroit and suburbs. The extensive parkland, primarily
managed by Wayne County Parks, makes this one of the most accessible watersheds
in the state. Access is more limited in the headwater communities, and particularly
in the higher quality reaches. Once water quality and habitat concerns are
addressed, the Rouge River could potentially support the highest recreational
use of any river in the state.Fishery
management has been limited, due to water quality, habitat, and hydrology
limitations. After remediation of the paved section, along with fish passage
at the most downstream dam, the lowest reaches of the Rouge River show the
most promise for new angling opportunities. The impoundments of the Middle
Branch are another area with potential, after remediation of contaminated
sediments. Johnson Drain, a tributary of the Middle Branch, is now the location
of brown trout stocking. Survival has been limited, mostly due to habitat
constraints, but the fishery has been used by area anglers.The
Rouge River watershed does not lack for public interest and support. Large
amounts of money and time have been invested in the river to address degradation
caused by humans. Many projects have been undertaken to educate the public
on the importance of a healthy river, clean up stretches of river affected
by CSOs and other forms of pollution, and replace and protect riparian habitat.The
management options offer a variety of ways for communities, interest groups,
and individuals to look at opportunities and problems that remain. Participation
throughout the watershed in remediation and rehabilitation of the river
will be necessary to realize the full potential of this system. |
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Fisheries Special Report No. 22 |
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| Tina M. Tincher, Librarian |
