Lake Michigan
HUC: 0419 (What is a Hydrologic Unit Code HUC?)
Area: 22,300 square miles of surface water and 44,600 square miles in the watershed
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes and the only one entirely within the United States; it stretches roughly 307 miles north–south with an extensive shoreline and is hydrologically joined to Lake Huron at the Straits of Mackinac. Many rivers and streams drain to Lake Michigan — notable larger tributaries include our very own St. Joseph River, Grand River, Kalamazoo River, Muskegon River, Menominee River, Fox–Wolf system, and several urban tributaries along Milwaukee and Chicago (e.g., Milwaukee River, Menomonee, Kinnickinnic, and historically the Chicago River system).
Governance and planning for Lake Michigan are carried out through a mix of federal, state, regional and binational programs. Under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and U.S. EPA/GLNPO frameworks, Lakewide Action and Management Plans (LAMPs) and numerous watershed- and site-specific plans (including Total Maximum Daily Load studies, Area of Concern remediation plans, state coastal/watershed plans, and Sea Grant research/monitoring projects) guide restoration actions across Lake Michigan’s coastal and tributary watersheds.
Key challenges facing Lake Michigan today include legacy contaminated sediments and toxic hot-spots in urban harbors (many addressed via AOC cleanup and dredging projects), nutrient runoff and associated nearshore algal problems, invasive species (which alter food webs and habitat), shoreline erosion and climate-driven lake level variability, microplastics and emerging contaminants, and pressures from urbanization and altered watershed hydrology. Restoring delisted and ongoing Areas of Concern, dredging/remediating contaminated sediment, curbing nonpoint-source nutrient inputs, and managing invasive species remain high priorities for governments and NGOs working on Lake Michigan.
What’s going on in the Lake Michigan Watershed?
Get involved in efforts to protect the Lake Michigan Watershed by learning more and having fun.
Alliance for the Great Lakes
Founded in 1970 (originally the Lake Michigan Federation, renamed Alliance for the Great Lakes in 2005)…
NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL)
NOAA GLERL and its partners conduct innovative research on the dynamic environments and ecosystems of…
Great Lakes Commission
The Great Lakes are an environmental and economic asset for the United States and Canada. The lakes fuel…
Healing Our Waters — Great Lakes Coalition
For more than 20 years, the Healing Our Waters–Great Lakes Coalition has been working to protect and restore….
Michigan Sea Grant
Michigan Sea Grant (MISG) is committed to research, education, and outreach through partnerships…
The Nature Conservancy — Great Lakes / Michigan Programs
For more than 65 years, people like you have helped The Nature Conservancy protect the serene waters of the…
Great Lakes Fishery Commission
The Great Lakes Fishery Commission facilitates successful cross-border cooperation that ensures the…
How’s the water?
There are many ways that water quality can be tracked. Check out these helpful websites to look at data relating to water quality.
Watershed Partners
