We’ve partnered with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the City of Traverse City to upgrade a runoff drain in Bryant Park. Funding comes from EPA’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

The storm drain cap on the old system would often blow off during a rain, allowing runoff to flood the beach and flow right into West Bay. A brand new storm drain lid was installed and all the old piping was replaced so the lid no longer blows off during rain storms.

A new runoff filtration system will be installed in spring 2012 that will decrease the amount of bacteria and other pollutants entering the bay. “The goal of this project is to reduce beach closures at Bryant Park due to high E.Coli counts, and to also remove this beach from Michigan’s Impaired Waters list,” said Sarah U’Ren, Program Director.