Monroe County Master Gardener Association

Gail wrote: After posting my photo from the Karst tour to our blog, I realized many of you may not have any idea of what I was referring to. Full-filling the educating others aspect of being a Master Gardener, I would like to offer this small article and a few more photos to help you understand just what a Karst is, their role esp. in water quality and why identifying and protecting them is so very important. In November, a group of interested individuals from varied backgrounds (incl. 3 MCMGs), led by N. Birkey, headed out by bus to get a better understanding of Karst activity in Monroe County. The goal was to visit varied sites but weather conditions restricted us from seeing all. Prior the tour my idea of a Karst was a cave and I was excited to think we might get to go spelunking; luckily we did not, as I was absent minded in how I dressed for the day. I was surprised to learn, Karsts are basically sink holes or areas where large quantities of water can be one minute and gone the next. A primary area in Monroe County for Karst activity is in Ottawa Lake, MI. There is the mystery–once a lake and now it isn’t. Where did the water go- is it really gone??? Due to limited space I will have to be brief but in a nut shell a Karst is a geological feature created because water has dissolved & eroded the underlying bedrock. In MonroeCounty much of our underlying bedrock is made of limestone. These invisible cracks become underground conduits which form caverns or sinkholes, and can also be home to unusual and often rare plant and animal species. The concern surrounding “sinkholes” isobvious. You certainly would not want to sell or buy property which could one day just fall into a bottomless abyss. On the other hand, the role a Karst plays in our water supplyis not so evident. Safe-guarding our water quality is of the utmost concern. Protecting the quality of our water supply is all of our responsibility therefore we MUST understandthe role Karsts play in this issue. A Karst can be a direct link to the groundwater table. Water that travels through the Karst is usually not filtered & the speeds the water can travel through these conduits can be as fast as 30 feet an hour or 10 miles per week. Not impressed; what if that water was carrying a major contaminant towards your well which supplies your drinking water?? We MUST identify these sites and protective measures need to be put in place to prevent accidental contamination of our ground water from pollutants due to agricultural runoff, toxins from the waste people dump into these areas in an attempt to fill in these sites and accidental hazardous spills since some of these areas are adjacent to roadways or industrial sites. Monroe County is not the only area in the state which has these formations. It is quite an interesting topic and there are many reference sites where you can read more. As a footnote-one of the riders was a student with his professor from University of Toledo. The student is updating & mapping the sites in Monroe County for his doctorate thesis. I hope Mr. Birkey will let us know when this info becomes available. gk

this looks like a hole.
can you see why someone would not want this on their property?
note it is in the road right of way?? what if a fuel truck or a car for
that matter fell into & tipped over in that hole?? where would any
liquid matter go??? How far away could it travel???

it would appear that i took a pot shot of weeds
(no pun intended) if not told what we were looking at we saw a ditch,
but closer review showed a gap-the conduit exposed in the rock base
of that “ditch” which ran along someone’s yard………………