EPA Releases $7.5 Million to Clean Michigan's Rouge River

LANSING, Michigan, March 27, 2006 (ENS) - The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has received a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to develop a plan to address E. coli contamination in the Rouge River. The plan, known as a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), will analyze data from the river to define sources and target areas for reductions with the goal of meeting state water quality standards.

The Rouge River has historically had levels of E. coli resulting from combined sewer overflows and nonpoint source pollution that make the water unsafe for body contact.

The TMDL will focus on E. coli sources from the Rouge River Main, Upper, Middle, Lower, Bell, and Franklin Branches, and Evans Ditch.

The grant money is part of $7.5 million that was released by the EPA for projects to improve the river's water quality, Congressman John Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, announced Thursday.

The money was left over from a $14 million federal grant that was supposed to have been allocated between 1999 and 2004. When the EPA tried to recall all unused grant funds, Dingell and other legislators persuaded the EPA to exempt the Rouge cleanup funding.

It will go to the Rouge River Wet Weather Demonstration Project, a coalition of local, state and federal groups trying to prevent pollution in the Rouge, particularly pollution that runs off rooftops, streets and parking lots during storms.

The DEQ has partnered with local organizations to determine E. coli sample locations and share data that will help identify the sources of contamination. Once the sources have been identified, efforts will be focused on eliminating or reducing them.

The Rouge River near Novi, Michigan. Walled Lake in Novi serves as the headwaters of the Middle Branch of the Rouge River. About 25 miles northwest of Detroit, Novi is one of the fastest growing cities in Michigan. (Photo courtesy City of Novi)

The process will involve stakeholder input, public meetings, and a public comment period. The DEQ plans to have a draft document available for public comment in February 2007.

The Rouge River Area of Concern includes the entire watershed, according to the February 2006 report, "Water Quality and Polllution Control in Michigan: 2006 Sections 303(d) and 305(b) Integrated Report," issued by the DEQ Water Bureau.

The Rouge River suffers from urban watershed stressors including combined sewage overflows, sanitary sewer overflows, nonpoint source pollution and point source discharges, contaminated sediments, and high flow variability, the report states.

These stressors have resulted in poor biotic communities, impoundment eutrophication, channel morphology perturbation, and public health advisories for fish consumption.

In 2003 and 2004, enforcement actions were taken throughout the state, with multiple actions taken in the Rouge River watershed, among others. Stormwater, ground water and drinking water violations were frequent problems addressed by the Enforcement Unit, according to the DEQ Water Bureau's report.

Still, progress is underway. A total of 77 of the 83 Phase 1 combined sewage overflow outfalls are now under control or have been eliminated by sewer separation.

The Rouge River has four main branches totaling 125 miles of waterways primarily flowing through Wayne and Oakland counties, with some headwaters in Washtenaw County.

The Rouge River runs brown as it enters the Detroit River. (Photo courtesy Friends of the Detroit River)

The lower four miles of the river are maintained as a shipping channel that connects with the Detroit River.

The Rouge drains a 438 square mile area that includes more than 400 lakes and ponds, and more than 50 miles of parkland along its banks. The river winds its way through 48 communities and provides recreational opportunities for more than 1.5 million people.

The DEQ says degradation of the Rouge River is representative of that found in many urbanized and industrialized areas within the Great Lakes Basin. Over 50 percent of the land use is residential, commercial, or industrial, with increasing development pressures in the headwaters.

The Michigan DEQ Surface Water Quality Division issued a new Voluntary General Storm Water Permit on July 30, 1997 to cover discharges from municipal stormwater systems and other governmental entities such as road commissions, public school districts, and public colleges. The permit, the first of its kind in the nation, focuses on control of stormwater discharges through illicit discharge elimination, public education, and storm water pollution prevention.

This permit program has become a national model. All of the communities and counties in the watershed have applied for Michigan's Voluntary Stormwater Permit. Permitees are required to participate in the development of a watershed management plan.