Ferris researchers work to find solution for contaminated water

BIG RAPIDS — Lingering poor water quality occurrences have been problematic for Billings Lake in Manton of Wexford County.

Sky Pike, an assistant professor of Biological Sciences at Ferris State University, and his students were encouraged by recent information about the lake water through collaborative water quality studies.

“This past year, we found a link between rain events and elevated E. coli levels in Manton Creek upstream of Billings Lake,” Pike said. “It is our hope to successfully pin down the source of contamination during 2021.”

Pike is also director of the Shimadzu Core Laboratory for Academic and Research Excellence at Ferris. He said there were multiple beach closures due to elevated E. coli levels in Billings Lake over the past several years, though the source of these elevated levels remains a mystery.

“When the E. coli levels jump, and the water is unsafe for bathing, it takes an important community attribute out of service,” Pike said.

Excessive E. coli levels in beach waters can cause gastrointestinal problems and fevers in beachgoers.

Because of this, in 2016, Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) and the District Health Department No. 10 requested the help of Ferris researchers in studying Billings Lake water quality.

In collaboration with DHD No. 10 and Wexford County Drain Commissioner Mike Solomon, EGLE has supported Ferris research efforts with equipment and funding for the research.

“The United States Environmental Protection Agency is also linked into this research,” Pike said.” We have used a PCR (polymerase chain reaction)-based method they are developing to assess E. coli levels.”

The PCR-based method the EPA has in development gives same-day results, rather than the next-day results of older methods, so contaminated beaches can be closed the same day high E. coli levels are sampled rather than by next-day findings from assay methods.

Under the U.S. EPA, Michigan EGLE formed a consortium five years ago of Michigan universities, including Ferris, and government laboratories to help validate this method. In the summer of 2019, Michigan became the first state permitted by the U.S. EPA to use this new method to close beaches for elevated E. coli levels.

“We are very pleased that our PCR testing method can offer a more rapid reaction to changing conditions, which means ‘no-swim orders’ can be put in place and removed, as readings reach unsafe levels,” Pike added. Similarly, we can clear these waterways for use when figures go back below the threshold.”

Billings Lake is a 20-acre waterway fed by Manton Creek, known as Cedar Creek in that community, and is a tributary to the Manistee River. According to research reports, the lake has a…