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  1. Home
  2. Urban Waters Partnership
  3. 21 Designated Urban Waters Locations

Urban Waters and the Grand River/Grand Rapids (Michigan)

Map of Grand River Watershed and Tributaries
  • Photo Gallery
  • Video: Mayor Bliss on the Grand River
 

Urban Waters Voices: Grand River

The Grand River/Grand Rapids Urban Waters Federal Partnership is a public-private led effort to restore the urban stretch of the Grand River through downtown Grand Rapids. The ability for fish and other creatures to thrive has been significantly impacted by the installation of five low head dams, floodwalls, urban encroachment, dredging, and grading. The five low head dams on the river drown the historic boulder rapids, limit fish passage and prohibit safe recreational uses of the river.

The Partnership has been around since 2013. Since then, the Partnership has grown and includes more partners, and more projects focused on the upstream and downstream communities in the entire Lower Grand River Watershed as well. Investments in pollution control have improved water quality to the point where expanded public use and river-oriented economic development will be enhanced and encouraged.

Local partners coordinated and developed a Grand River/Grand Rapids workplan, intended to define goals, detail key partners, summarize priority projects, specify milestones, and project goals.

Local Partnership Work Plan

Resources
  • Background Information
  • Program Contacts
  • Grand River 101
  • Presentations
  • Project Updates
  • Partner Links

List of Partners

Federal Agency Co-Leads in the Partnership

  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
  • U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
    • Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)

Additional Federal Agencies Playing Key Roles in the Partnership:

  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
  • U.S. Forest Service (USFS)
  • U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)

Non-Federal Partners

Great Lakes Agencies/Organizations:

  • Great Lakes Fisheries Commission (GLFC)

State Agency Partners:

  • Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE)
  • Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR)
  • Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS)

Local Government Partners:

  • The City of Grand Rapids
  • Grand Valley Metropolitan Council
  • Downtown Grand Rapids, Inc.
  • Ionia, Kent, and Ottawa Counties
  • Upstream/downstream communities

Private Sector:

  • Fishbeck, Inc.
  • River Restoration.org
  • The Wege Foundation

Academia: 

  • Grand Valley State University (GVSU),
  • Calvin University
  • Aquinas College
  • Kendall College of Art & Design (Ferris State University)
  • Grand Rapids Community College

NGO/Community Organizations

  • Grand Rapids Whitewater
  • Lower Grand River Organization of Watersheds
  • West Michigan Environmental Action Council
  • Plaster Creek Stewards
  • American Rivers
  • West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum
  • Fiends of Grand Rapids Parks
  • River Network
  • Trout Unlimited
  • Groundswell
  • Kent Conservation District (KCD)
  • National Wildlife Federation
  • Friends of Buck Creek
  • Ottawa Conservation District (OCD
  • Rogue River Watershed Partners
  • Barry Conservation District
  • Coldbrook Creek Community
  • Friends of Rush Creek
  • Thornapple River Watershed Council
  • Ottawa County Water Resources Commissioner 

Urban Waters Partnership

  • About the Urban Waters Partnership
  • 21 Designated Urban Waters Locations
    • Anacostia Watershed (DC/MD)
    • Blue River (Kansas City, MO)
    • Bronx and Harlem River Watersheds (NY)
    • Caño Martín Peña (PR)
    • Grand River / Grand Rapids (MI)
    • Greater Philadelphia Area / Delaware River Watershed (PA, NJ, DE)
    • Green-Duwamish Watershed (Washington)
    • Lake Pontchartrain Area / New Orleans (LA)
    • Los Angeles River Watershed (CA)
    • The Meramec River and Big River (Missouri)
    • Middle Rio Grande / Albuquerque (NM)
    • Mystic River Watershed (MA)
    • Northwest Indiana (IN)
    • Passaic River / Newark (NJ)
    • Patapsco Watershed / Baltimore Region (MD)
    • Proctor Creek Watershed / Atlanta (GA)
    • Rio Reimagined-Rio Salado Project
    • San Antonio River Basin within Bexar County (Texas)
    • South Platte Watershed, Headwaters to Denver Metropolitan Area (CO)
    • Walnut Creek Watershed / Raleigh (NC)
    • Western Lake Erie Basin, near Toledo (OH)
  • Federal Partners
Contact Us About the Urban Waters Partnership
Contact Us to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem.
Last updated on February 18, 2025
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