MSU Water Alliance

06/03/2026

📖 June Book of the Month: Saving Arcadia by Heather Shumaker

This creative nonfiction story details the decades-long battle of a local community to protect sand dunes and farmland in Arcadia, Michigan from corporate development.

Perfect for anyone passionate about protecting our waters and natural landscapes!

06/01/2026

Looking for eco-friendly weekend plans in Michigan? Check out these free, family-friendly upcoming events:

Sturgeon Fest (Port Huron) Come face-to-fin with the Great Lakes’ biggest underwater celebrity! Enjoy a free shore festival with touch tanks, food trucks, and live music or get tickets for a narrated research cruise on the St. Clair River and Lake Huron.
👉 Details: https://scriver.org/sturgeon-festival/

Aquatic Ales Community Event (Allendale) Michigan State University Extension, Clean Boats, Clean Waters, and Trail Point Brewing Co. are teaming up to fight invasive species with a new educational ale. This family-friendly launch event includes live music, games, and local conservation booths.
👉 Details: https://tinyurl.com/7p46h9xd

Moss Around and Find Out (Chelsea) Join MSU's Dr. Jeremy Hartsock for a free, guided 2-mile hike and learn the basics of moss identification. Space is limited and registration is required.
👉 Register: https://tinyurl.com/38ct5cvt

KBS BioBlitz (Augusta) Explore the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary alongside KBS scientists and track local biodiversity. Sanctuary entry fees are waived for everyone who registers.
👉 Register: https://tinyurl.com/52b6b4cs

05/28/2026

Join Michigan State University Extension and Fisheries & Wildlife at Michigan State University for an immersive, two-day Aquatic Plant Identification course at Kellogg Biological Station.

Led by Erick Elgin, Jo Latimore, and Jeremy Hartsock, this workshop combines field visits in the Kalamazoo and Barry County areas with hands-on lab sessions.

Participants will learn:
• Aquatic plant morphology and terminology
• Michigan aquatic plant identification
• The ecological role of aquatic plants in Michigan waterbodies

🗓️ June 17 & 18, 2026 (8:30 AM - 5 PM)
📍W.K. Kellogg Biological Station
Cost: $250 (Sanctuary Members) | $300 (Non-Members)
Lodging: Overnight accommodations are available through the KBS Conference Center
👉 Registration Deadline: June 14, 2026

📸: Jo Latimore

05/26/2026

It’s officially beach season in Michigan! As you enjoy the shoreline, keep in mind that weather conditions and stormwater runoff can cause rapid, unexpected changes in beach water quality.

Check out these guidelines and bookmark the MiEnviro Portal: BeachGuard for live water quality updates this summer: https://www.michigan.gov/egle/maps-data/mienviroportal/beachguard

05/22/2026

Learn more about campus resources that are keeping our water safe:

• Institute of Water Research (IWR): Builds online mapping tools to track emerging threats and protect Michigan's waterways.
• Center for Lakes and Streams (Michigan State University Extension): Helps Michigan residents manage aquatic invasive species, harmful algal blooms, and healthy lakefronts.
• Engineers Without Borders: A student-led organization designing and building clean water infrastructure for global communities in need.

05/21/2026

05/20/2026

Angelique Willis, a PhD student in MSU Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences and the Environmental Science and Policy Program at MSU, joined the WaterCube NRT Fellowship Program in 2025.

Before coming to MSU, she examined chemical contaminants in well water throughout Georgia. Today, Angelique works with organizations in Detroit to address drinking water contamination linked to chemical facilities. Specifically, she studies how contaminants like chromium-6 in tap water may correlate with kidney disease.

Learn more about her work and other PhD students doing water research at MSU: https://lnkd.in/g9PfQbzd

05/19/2026

May is American Wetlands Month, and we're highlighting both the ecological and cultural connections these ecosystems provide to Michigan communities.

Historically, Michigan has experienced a loss of more than 50% of its natural wetlands. Faculty within the Fisheries & Wildlife at Michigan State University are actively studying these systems. Jeremy Hartsock explains how wetlands act as "the landscapes' kidneys", filtering nutrients and storing carbon. Angela K. Burrow and her lab are focused on the role small wetlands, known as vernal pools, play in supporting Michigan's mammal populations.

Beyond their ecological value, wetlands are a significant cultural resource, providing spiritual connection, particularly for our region's Indigenous communities.

Join us this month as we share insights from our faculty on the continued management and preservation of these vital landscapes.

05/13/2026

Michigan remains the only state without a statewide septic system code. We spoke with MSU Assistant Professor Anthony Kendall (Michigan State University Earth & Environmental Sciences) about septic system pollution for this month's Wednesday Water.

Dr. Kendall explains Michigan's current septic regulations, which areas are most vulnerable to septic system pollution, and one change that could improve how Michigan manages septic systems.

05/12/2026

MSU Professor Wei Liao (Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering - Michigan State University) and researchers Annaliese Marks, Chenghai Li (Harvard University), and Shengqiang Cai (University of California San Diego) have developed a promising new method for carbon dioxide (CO2) capture.

It involves using a macroporous hydrogel infused with a solution made from algae amino acids (microalgal amino acid salt solution or MAASS).

Learn more: https://water.msu.edu/feature/spartans-making-difference-high-efficiency-carbon-capture

Read the full research article: https://tinyurl.com/2mfnnbvv