Illustration by Tabi Walters
In October, the city began accepting applications from property owners for the Bluebelt program, a new effort designed to safeguard the sourcewater that feeds Ann Arbor’s drinking water system.
The Bluebelt builds on the city’s Greenbelt program. Launched in 2003 and funded through a voter-approved property tax millage, it permanently protects natural areas and agricultural land surrounding the city from being developed.
Related: Greenbelt and Bluebelt
The Bluebelt encompasses the watersheds that feed Ann Arbor’s drinking water sources, and preserves the land adjacent to upstream creeks, wetlands, and groundwater recharge areas—locations where water enters from the surface to replenish an underground aquifer.
While less visible than water treatment plants or filtration upgrades, this can play a crucial role in keeping pollution from entering the water supply in the first place.
Riparian buffers, undeveloped land next to water sources, can “slow and filter surface runoff and the sediment and excess nutrients that runoff carries before it hits our waterways,” writes city land acquisition supervisor Rosie Pahl Donaldson. “Forested riparian buffers can keep the water at a lower temperature, which prevents acceleration of eutrophication,” when excessive nutrients in water cause dense plant growth. “Protecting groundwater recharge areas helps to prevent flooding that would worsen runoff events.”
The program works by purchasing conservation easements—legal agreements that allow landowners to keep ownership of their property while permanently limiting certain types of development. Easements are funded through the same millage that supports the Greenbelt. In some cases, the city may also partner with Washtenaw County or conservation nonprofits to acquire land outright for public preservation.
“Conservation easements can also offer peace of mind that one’s home will continue to look more or less like home,” Pahl Donaldson writes, “and that one’s legacy associated with the land will remain.”
Landowners don’t need technical expertise to determine whether their property qualifies: all they need is a creek with a natural buffer, around 100 feet of vegetation on each side, or to be identified as an important groundwater recharge area. The city will coordinate with regional land conservancies to identify parcels for protection.
“While there are eligibility requirements, if your property is in the Bluebelt boundary, I would encourage you to reach out if you’re at all interested in preserving your land,” writes Pahl Donaldson. “There are several land preservation programs within the County, so even if a landowner is not eligible for the Bluebelt, staff will direct them to the best program for them.”