Exactly how much is the Michigan economy impacted by its ports and waterways?

The Michigan Port Collaborative is about to find out.

The organization has obtained funding from the Michigan Waterways Commission for a "full spectrum" economic impact study.

"Several economic impact studies already exist but they are not 'full spectrum,'" said Felicia Fairchild, chair of the collaborative. "Most do not include all ports, nor do they include economic drivers for individual ports other than traditional maritime measurements."

The study will take factors like tourism into account since ports are a unique attribute to their communities, and therefore a tourism driver. What other sectors may be affected by port activity is yet unknown.

"The study will be unique for each community and the report will be reflective of the activities that take place in a particular port," said Marci Cisneros, executive director of the Grand Haven Convention and Visitors Bureau and treasurer of the collaborative. "Therefore, the details and type of the economic impact reported will be further developed and explored as the research is being conducted."

Michigan has more than 110 ports that are used for cargo, ferry, commercial and recreational activities. For example, ports in Muskegon and Detroit are listed by the collaborative as having all four of those uses. Grand Haven, Traverse City, Manistee and the Saginaw River port in Bay City are used for commercial, cargo and recreation. Smaller ports, like Saugatuck, may have just one or two uses.

The project will cost about $42,000, half of which the collaborative is working to raise in matching funds through the support of port communities. The study will begin in fall 2017, and be finished by fall 2018. Participating ports will receive a template to continue to track economic impact.

"The goal of the study is to better understand our ports and celebrate them through recognizing the economic importance they provide to the community and state," Cisneros said. "In addition, the motivation behind this effort is [to] have third party research and reporting that is often needed when advocating to city leaders, state and federal officials as well as legislators for harbor maintenance funding or harbor development."

According to the collaborative, there is a current "threat to all blue economy jobs" due to President Donald Trump's 2018 budget recommendation to eliminate all Great Lake cleanup funding. Trump has proposed to zero-out Great Lakes funding in his 2018 budget as part of deep cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency, which administers the grant program.

The Great Lakes restoration program was launched in 2010 and funnels money to state and local projects to clean up contaminated sediments, restore watersheds, combat invasive species and build green infrastructure.

Since lake levels dropped in 2009, the economic importance of ports has been "under assault" at the state and federal levels, according to the release. State and local agencies are looking at harbors as an economic liability, the release said.

That's because low water levels, means an increased need for dredging, Fairchild said.

The Army Corps of Engineers has a freight tonnage threshold, with harbors over 1 million tons annually classified as high-use commercial harbors guaranteed for dredging, and those below classified as low-use, which makes things a bit cloudier.

"We want to change that thinking," she said. "Michigan harbors are the front doors to our communities."

Smaller ports face a threat to recreation and other uses when they can't be dredged, Fairchild said.

Muskegon and Grand Haven both have annual tonnage around one million, but ports like Saugatuck fall well below the threshold. That puts those communities in a tough spot. Advocates hope the study will provide a new way to quantify the worth of each port.