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In: Barker's Island Marina, Eric Thomas, Michael Crick, River Talks, Theresa Qualls, Wisconsin Clean Marina Program

The revamped stormwater pond at Barker’s Island Marina. Before the improvements, the pond often used to flood after storms. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant

Greener and Cleaner: How a Marina Takes Big Strides Toward Cleaner Water

The new season of River Talks began in October with three speakers who described projects designed to control stormwater runoff and prevent pollution at the marina on Barker’s Island in Superior, Wisconsin.

Theresa Qualls with the Wisconsin Clean Marina Program, Eric Thomas with Barker’s Island Marina and Michael Krick with the city of Superior gave in-person presentations in the Lake Superior Estuarium. Their talk was originally scheduled to be an outdoors tour, but inclement weather changed plans.

Barker’s Island Marina has been working for several years on certification to become a Wisconsin Clean Marina. These clean marinas voluntarily go the extra mile to adopt measures to reduce pollution from their marina, boatyards and recreational boats. Designated clean marinas are recognized as environmentally responsible businesses.

Qualls began the presentation by providing information about the clean marina program. “Clean lakes and rivers are good for business. Boaters really care about the water resource,” said Qualls, coordinator of the program. “In addition, it creates a safer and healthier place to work and recreate, and it really can enhance the image of the marina among the community and among boaters.”

The new boat wash station at Barker’s Island Marina. It better controls wash water that could potentially carry toxic boat paint residue. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant

She said marinas are in a unique position to improve water quality because of their location near water. Earlier that day, she met with Barker’s Island Marina staff to finalize a plan for their certification. Once approved by a technical team and certified, Barker’s Island Marina will join 22 other clean marinas in the state. She said most of those are coastal marinas, but they are working to encourage more inland lake marinas to pursue certification.

Thomas said his marina wanted to be in the clean marina program because, “We have a ton of boats. We have a ton of machinery. All these boats are full of machines, engines, oil, grease – all kinds of yucky stuff . . . As somebody who has been on the Great Lakes all my life, and in the water my whole life, it’s so easy to make mess — we have to work really hard not to. But the rewards are huge.”

One thing the marina did to control stormwater runoff is to let native plants along the shoreline grow instead of continuously cutting them down. This also deters geese from walking onshore and defecating on sidewalks.

At the far end of the marina is a new boat wash station. When boats are lifted out of the water at the end of the season, the power wash water is collected in tub, filtered and sent to the sewage treatment plant. This keeps toxic boat paint residue from entering the lake. They also regraded the boat washing pavement so that rainwater drains into a new engineered wetland constructed by the city of Superior.

Krick described the construction process for the wetland, which contains a forebay and several cells to slow down stormwater and treat it via native plant processes. The outlet drains into the harbor. “It was really hard to grow anything this year, everyone’s aware of the lack of rain we had,” Krick said of the process to plant the wetland vegetation. “But the last month has been very nice in terms of getting vegetation established before winter. I’m fairly happy with the way it looks.”

Thomas added, “We’re able to treat an inch or inch-and-a-half of rain through the wetland effectively. So, when we get one of these good soakers, we’re not releasing anything immediately into the lake. It’s all getting filtered through this.”

The new engineered wetland at Barker’s Island Marina. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant

The wetland project was funded by the Great Lakes Protection Fund and engineered by The Ohio State University. Staff at the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve monitor conditions at the wetland and stormwater pond to ensure they are working properly.

The last improvement discussed was the marina’s stormwater pond, which is near the road. Because it had no outlet, the pond would often flood the marina parking lot during heavy rains, creating hazardous conditions.

The pond was retrofitted with a forebay to catch and treat the water, allowing sediment to settle. A pipe allows the water to flow into the bay once it gets high enough.

Barker’s Island Marina is one of three marinas in the states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio chosen for installation of green stormwater infrastructure practices.

For more information about Barker’s Island environmental projects, visit this blog story.

The Nov. 10 River Talk will feature Samuel Geer, president of Urban Ecosystems, presenting, “Revealing the Invisible: Experiencing and Interpreting the St. Louis River along Waabizheshikana (The Marten Trail).”  His talk will be via Zoom at 7 p.m.:

https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/97648986592?pwd=THZIU1JBYTZRdzg3V1hkdUZOSExuUT09 
Meeting ID: 976 4898 6592
Passcode: 924675

Other River Talks will be held Jan. 12, Feb. 19, March 9, April 13 and May 11, 2022. The March talk will be held in conjunction with the St. Louis River Summit and the date may change. For more information, visit the River Talks page: go.wisc.edu/4uz720.

The River Talks are sponsored by The Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve and the Wisconsin Sea Grant Program.

The post Greener and Cleaner: How a Marina Takes Big Strides Toward Cleaner Water first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

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Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant

Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant

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Marie Zhuikov

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In: Barker's Island green infrastructure improvements, Barker's Island Marina, Eric Thomas, Michael Krick, River Talks, Theresa Qualls, Wisconsin Clean Marina Program

The revamped stormwater pond at Barker’s Island Marina. Before the improvements, the pond often used to flood. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant

The River Talks, a series of informal science presentations, returns for the season with “Greener and Cleaner: How a Marina Takes Big Strides Toward Cleaner Water,” an in-person tour of environmental improvements on Barker’s Island in Superior.

Three speakers –Theresa Qualls with the Wisconsin Clean Marina Program, Eric Thomas with Barker’s Island Marina and Michael Krick with the city of Superior – will describe new projects designed to control stormwater runoff and prevent pollution on the island at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 13.

Marinas attract customers who care deeply about sustaining water quality. With support from the Clean Marina Program, the city of Superior and many partners, Barker’s Island Marina has taken great strides over the past few years to install an engineered wetland and a large boat wash station. Tour participants will visit these innovative projects and learn more about the Clean Marina Program.

Meet at the marina’s Ship Store. Parking for this can be found in the northwest corner of the Barker’s Inn Resort parking lot (see map below). The tour will involve a round-trip walk on easy, paved surfaces from the Ship Store to the service center (three-fourths of a mile). It will last until 6 p.m. and will include time for Q&A.

In case of rain, the presentations will be held in the Lake Superior Estuarium on Barker’s Island (3 Marina Dr.).

Other River Talks will be held Nov. 10, 2021, and Jan. 12, Feb. 19, March 9, April 13 and May 10, 2022. The March talk will be held in conjunction with the St. Louis River Summit and the date may change. For more information, visit the River Talks page: go.wisc.edu/4uz720.

The River Talks are sponsored by The Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve and the Wisconsin Sea Grant Program.

The post River Talks resume with Barker’s Island tour first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

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News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

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Marie Zhuikov

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In: Barker's Island green infrastructure improvements, Barker's Island Marina, Eric Thomas, Jim Paine, Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve, Matt Steiger, Sustain Our Great Lakes Program, Todd Breiby, Wisconsin Coastal Mangement Program

Participants on the tour listen to Matt Steiger, Wisconsin DNR, describe improvements to the Barker’s Island inland beach. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov

Last week, I joined a walking tour to check on the progress of projects designed to improve the environment on Barker’s Island in Superior, Wisconsin. After a welcome at the Lake Superior Estuarium by Jim Paine, the mayor of Superior, we hoofed it over to Barker’s Island beach. Although most of the work on the beach was done back in 2019, progress is still being made.

Native plants that replaced invasive buckthorn bushes were thriving and in fine color. Yellow sunflowers and purple bottle gentians lined the raised boardwalk along with many other grasses, flowers and shrubs. Our tour guides from the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve (Reserve) and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) pointed out porous concrete underneath the picnic tables and pervious pavers in the parking areas along the street. These are designed to allow water to soak into the ground instead of running directly into the lake, which diminishes pollution.

The Barker’s Island beach and boardwalk. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant

Matt Steiger with the Wisconsin DNR said the changes are working. Before the improvements, the E. coli bacteria amount exceeded standards 42% of the time for the summer season in 2015 and 2016. After the project was completed in 2020, E. coli exceedances dropped to only 8%.

The second area we visited encompassed the charter fishing dock parking lot and the Barker’s Island Inn lot and tennis courts. Funded by a grant to the city of Superior from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Sustain Our Great Lakes Program, progress on these projects has been slower than anticipated because of the many challenges brought about by the COVID pandemic.

However, city staff expect ground to be broken in the spring of 2022 on medians in the parking lot, which will be planted with native trees and shrubs to slow water runoff. The tennis courts behind the inn will be turned into a green space, and the paved walking path across from the inn will be extended.

Our next stop was Barker’s Island Marina. Manager Eric Thomas showed us the many improvements completed this spring thanks to several grants and cooperation among Sea Grant programs in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio, as well as the City of Superior, the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program, The Ohio State University, and the Wisconsin Marine Association. These include a rubber mat that catches toxic paint chemicals and biofouling organisms when boats are removed from the water and washed at the end of the season.

Eric Thomas, manager of Barker’s Island Marina, describes new environmental improvements. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant

Pavement at the marina has been replaced and regraded so that it drains toward a new engineered wetland along its edge. Todd Breiby with the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program explained that the wetland includes a forebay, which catches the pavement runoff and allows contaminants to settle. Then the water moves into a basin filled with plants, which filter the water, and then into another plant-filled basin, before emptying into the bay.

Breiby and Thomas then walked us closer to the road to the marina parking lot stormwater pond, which was retrofitted to make it function better. The pond used to flood the lot because it had no outlet, so a culvert was added that allows water to drain into the bay once it reaches a certain level. A forebay was also installed, which captures sediment coming off the marina parking lot and improves water quality.

To ensure these new marina improvements are doing their job cleaning water, researchers from Ohio State and the Reserve are monitoring water quality and noting “before” and “after” changes.

Todd Breiby with the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program describes changes to the Barker’s Island Marina parking lot stormwater pond. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant

Walking back to my office (which is on Barker’s Island) at the end of the tour, I was struck by how things that look so natural, like the wetland and the pond, can do such a good job of cleaning water if we give them a chance.  Although some had only been put in this season, they already looked like they’d been around for years. It’s good to know that these features are in place and working, and that they’ll serve as examples for other communities and marinas to try.

The post Environmental improvements to Barker’s Island progressing first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

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Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant

Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/environmental-improvements-to-barkers-island-progressing/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=environmental-improvements-to-barkers-island-progressing

Marie Zhuikov

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In: Adrea Crouse, Barker's Island Inn, Barker's Island Marina, green infrastructure, Julia Noordyk, Todd Breiby

Barker’s Island in Superior looks different than it did a year ago. Construction on the island’s public beach rearranged and added structures to help improve water quality and provide a better experience for swimmers.

More changes are in store for the next two summers, all designed to reduce stormwater runoff and protect water quality in the Superior Bay and ultimately, Lake Superior.

Conceptual designs were recently completed for work at the Barker’s Island Marina and will be completed in 2020 for areas around Barker’s Island Inn, thanks to several grants and cooperation among the two businesses and Sea Grant programs in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio, as well as the City of Superior, the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program, The Ohio State University, and the Wisconsin Marine Association.

Three projects at the marina will begin work this summer. Four others at the inn will begin in 2021. Here’s the rundown.

Barker’s Island Marina will be updated in 2020 with a stormwater wetland. The project will treat runoff from the service area and parking lot. Image by Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Barker’s Island Marina

A stormwater wetland will be created at Barker’s Island Marina in 2020 in an unused area along the coast to treat runoff from the service area and parking lot. Currently, runoff from these areas flows into a ditch and the harbor. As part of this, the marina will be graded and repaved to direct water toward the stormwater wetland. They will also install a boat wash station.

Julia Noordyk, water quality and coastal communities outreach specialist with Wisconsin Sea Grant, explains the importance of boat wash stations. “Copper anti-fouling paints are used on the bottoms of boats. At the end of the season when they’re power-washed, it just all sloughs off. You have some heavy metals potentially going into the water body. Boat wash stations are a really great thing. They capture the water rather than having it just drain directly into the lake.”

The second area is the parking lot at the marina where boats are stored for winter. The lot currently features a stormwater pond that doesn’t function properly. It sometimes floods, putting people and boats at risk. The design team plans to install an underground pipe so the pond can drain properly, plus a forebay to capture sediment coming off the parking lot, which will improve water quality.

If enough funds are left after the first two fixes, the third will be to install a large cistern to catch water off the roof of the marina maintenance building, delaying its flow into the bay. The water could be used for rinsing tanks and other water supply needs by the marina.

These activities are supported by a grant designed to advance stormwater management at Great Lakes marinas through the Great Lakes Protection Fund. As part of this project, a tool is being developed that will help marina owners and operators choose the best green infrastructure projects for their operations. Barker’s Island Marina is one of three marinas in the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio chosen to test the tool and install the green infrastructure practices. Researchers from The Ohio State University and the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve will monitor the site before and after installation to record changes in water quality.

After completing the projects and adopting other best-management practices, Barker’s Island Marina will become a certified Clean Marina in the state of Wisconsin. The Clean Marina Program is designed to reduce pollution from marinas to protect Wisconsin’s waterways. Program staff conduct site visits to verify marina practices and provide training and technical support to marina and boatyard managers.

“I’m impressed by Barker’s Island Marina’s willingness to participate in this project and go through the certification process,” Noordyk said. “They understand that healthy water quality and a clean Lake Superior is crucial to their business plan.”

“It’s a unique opportunity to advance green infrastructure and help improve water quality at the marina, as well as improve its resiliency to coastal storms, and flooding,” said Todd Breiby, program coordinator with the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program, which is partnering with Sea Grant on the Great Lakes Protection Fund grant. “We’re hoping what we learn on Barker’s Island can be transferred to other locations and marinas around the state.”

The marina sits on city land, so the city of Superior is also involved.

“There’s a lot of really good energy on Barker’s Island right now,” said Andrea Crouse, water resources program coordinator with the city. “We know that a lot of boaters spend time on the water because they love being around water, and they value programs like the Clean Marina Program. We expect this will be a draw for people who are out on sailboats or motorboats on the lake – knowing that they could dock at a place where there’s a clean marina certification and good practices is something that people feel good about.”

Barker’s Island Inn

The parking lot at Barker’s Island Inn will get a “green” makeover in 2021. Image by Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Crouse said the city was recently awarded a grant for just under $500,000 from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Sustain Our Great Lakes Program to improve stormwater storage and reduce runoff impacts on Barker’s Island, including a “green” parking lot around Barker’s Island Inn. Conceptual plans call for installing infiltration medians and pervious surfaces around the lot edges in 2021 to discourage water runoff, and planting native trees and shrubs.

“We’re also exploring dark-sky lighting options for the parking lot,” Crouse said. “We’re thinking not only about water quality, but about how we can keep this a safe and well-lit area for people using it, while minimizing the ambient light that’s shining up into the sky or being directed to places that are problematic for wildlife.”

Across the road from the lot is a sandy area used as a catamaran launch, however, it was never an official site. Crouse said the area is eroding, sending sediment into the harbor. Plans involve creating an official launch and installing grass paving, which is a grid of plastic that can withstand the weight of vehicles and heavy foot traffic. This will stabilize the shoreline and prevent soil compaction and erosion.

And that walking trail that currently dead-ends across from the inn? Crouse said it’s going to be expanded. “Most people like walking in a loop, so we’re going to lengthen the trail to go around the hotel property and allow walkers to extend their hike,” she said. The trail will be constructed with low-impact practices, possibly a porous asphalt.

The final of the areas slated for work in 2021 are the tennis courts behind the inn. “They are in rough shape right now,” said Crouse. “We’ll be talking with the inn to discuss whether they want to keep one of those courts or none of them . . . But we’ll be removing several of them, at least, and putting in a green playground area so there will be more room for children and families that are using the space, as well as folks that are using the marina.”

Crouse said the timing of the projects is fortunate. “…Knowing that these projects might be happening at a similar time will allow us to be really efficient with city effort and funds so we can design these as much as possible in tandem. It’s a huge benefit to the public for us to be able to coordinate these projects together.”

Original Article

News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/environmental-improvements-coming-to-barkers-island/

Marie Zhuikov