GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids city officials have installed a “water quality monitoring station” over the Grand River on the Sixth Street Bridge.
The interactive station, made possible by a collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), gives community members the ability to pull up real-time information by scanning a QR code, the city explains.
We’re told the station demonstrates how taxpayers and city officials have contributed to cleaning up the river in the past four decades by eliminating sewage overflow, bolstering a greener infrastructure, and treating storm and wastewater.
Furthermore, the station allows the USGS to monitor new data in the Grand River every 15 minutes. The data will be used to address E. coli concerns after about three years of analysis, the city says.
“Through the years of the public engagement process for the Grand River Restoration project, one common question we were asked is about the water quality of the Grand River,” says City Project Manager Michael Staal. “We took the question seriously and while we know – through our historical monitoring efforts – the E. Coli levels don’t typically reach the State’s recreational non-contact limits, there are times it does.”
City officials tell us USGS is covering 60% of project costs, adding to contributions from the Grand Rapids Downtown Development Authority and a grant from the Grand Rapids Community Foundation.
“Creating a partnership with USGS on this cutting edge project is an important step to working towards providing actionable data for the users of the Grand River,” Staal adds.
Read more about the project on the city’s website.
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