A Bay Besieged

There is good news and bad news in the newly released University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute report The State of the Bay:  The Condition of the Bay of Green Bay/Lake Michigan 2013.

The report, released Feb. 20 at a press conference at the Jack Day Environmental Education Center in Green Bay, is the culmination of 40 years of water quality research for married researchers Bud Harris, professor emeritus of natural and applied sciences at the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay, and recently retired University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Researcher Vicky Harris. Theresa Qualls, UWGB program assistant, assisted the Harrises.

Bud Harris said he would assign a grade of C-minus for overall performance on water quality issues since the last report in 1993. “I suppose it could be worse,” he said, “but it certainly could be better.”

“There’s a symbiotic relationship between a healthy bay and successful commerce,” Victoria Harris said. “But these activities require clean water, and people need to take care of the water. This report can be a blueprint for that.”

Let’s start with the good news:  Walleye and Spotted Muskie are thriving in Green Bay. Ammonia levels, once a cause for concern, are down in the bay, and despite hypoxic areas (dead zones) “in isolated bottom waters during late summer,” dissolved oxygen levels are generally good. Beach closings are decreasing.

The bad news? Well, there’s a lot more of that.

Coastal wetlands remain endangered due to development. Phosphorus, nitrate and nitrite concentrations have been increasing, “likely a reflection of increased fertilizer use in the watershed.”

Excessive suspended solids (algae, soil, decaying plant matter and wastewater particles) are limiting the amount of available light in the water.

Too much of the plant pigment chlorophyll has been found in samples. It causes algae growth.

Water clarity averages half a meter, only half what a healthy bay needs.

Toxic chemicals – PCBs, dioxins, DDT, arsenic and mercury –continue at unacceptable levels.

Aquatic invasive species continue to threaten the ecosystem.

If it seems the bad outweighs the good, just go back to the last State of the Bay report issued 20 years ago. It focused on the Fox-Wolf River Basin – the last seven miles of the Fox River below the De Pere dam and a 21 square mile area of southern Green Bay out to Point au Sable and Long Tail Point.

“More than 100 potentially toxic substances have been identified in the water, fish and sediments of the Fox River,” that report said in one of a series of shocking findings.

The 1993 report found a host of “use impairments,” most of which were caused by excess phosphorus, suspended solids, toxic substances and wetland losses.

The final line in that report read:  “The degree and extent of contamination and resource degradation in the AOC (Area of Concern) has resulted from nearly 100 years of land use changes and pollutant releases. There are no ‘quick fixes’ to remediate the damages and restore full beneficial uses. Restoration will take decades of sustained commitment to pollution prevention, contaminant cleanup, habitat enhancement, better land use management, and facility redevelopment.”

The latest report points out that lower Green Bay and the Fox River have been designated an area of concern requiring this type of study – one of 43 areas of concern in the Great Lakes – “because persistent pollution or degraded habitats have restricted many activities such as fishing and consuming fish, using the water for drinking, and swimming and enjoying beaches.”

The solution:  Continued vigilance by stakeholders.

“Many groups and organizations are working to restore Green Bay with the goals of eliminating the toxicity of wastewater discharges, remediating contaminated sediments, protecting and restoring wetlands and ecological services, preventing further invasive species introductions, and reducing nutrients and the amount of solids,” the report states. “Continuing these efforts can only help with these issues, but it requires continued public and political support.”

See the full 153-page report at seagrant.wisc.edu/sotb.