LANSING – Almost 15 billion gallons of foul, raw or partially treated sewage, enough to fill nearly 25,000 Olympic size swimming pools – has been dumped into Michigan’s rivers, lakes and streams since January 2011, according to a statewide analysis by the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association (MITA). Sewer discharges result when overloaded and aging sewer systems are routinely flooded by heavy rains.
According to the reports on the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) website, some of the worst polluters had completed mandatory remediation projects – yet they continue to dump large amounts of partially or untreated sewage into the state’s waterways. MITA’s analysis highlights the “Dirty Dozen” counties that dumped more than one million gallons of raw or partially treated sewage in the first four months of the year – they include:
Rank County Sewer Discharge
1. Wayne 13.4 Billion gallons
2. Macomb 1.04 Billion gallons
3. Bay 88.3 million gallons
4. Ingham 75.4 million gallons
5. Saginaw 63 million gallons
6. Kent 50 million gallons
7. Genesee 32.2 million gallons
8. Oakland 25.7 million gallons
9. Monroe 14.6 million gallons
10. St. Clair 7.7 million gallons
11. Gogebic 5.3 million gallons
12. Lapeer 4.9 million gallons
Wayne County has the worst record among the 83 counties – with more than 13.4 billion gallons of raw or partially treated sewage dumped. While seven of Michigan’s 10 most populous counties appear on the list of biggest violators, the dumping of raw or partially treated sewage is not an exclusively urban problem, but rather a Michigan problem. Gogebic County in the western tip of the Upper Peninsula has only 16,500 residents but ranks 11th in sewage overflow problems.
“People can’t help but take notice when our roads and bridges are in bad shape, but when a sewer pipe is leaking underground, it’s out of sight, out of mind,” said Keith Ledbetter, director of legislative affairs at MITA. “This head-in-the-sand mentality has led public officials to eliminate infrastructure funding and cast a blind eye at the ongoing pollution of our state’s trademark fresh waters.”
Communities are required by law to report discharges to the state DEQ within 24 hours, with a more detailed report to follow. These mandatory reports provided the foundation for the MITA analysis.
Historically, state and federal low-interest loans helped communities finance these expensive environmental projects over a 20-year period. But, elected officials at both the state and national level have been slashing dollars for infrastructure funding, leaving local communities to fend for themselves. From 1999-2004, the Michigan Legislature placed more than $17 million annually in general fund money into the State Revolving Fund program. However, since 2005 the state has eliminated all general fund support for underground infrastructure.
In Washington, the recently completed FY 2011 Clean Water Appropriations bill reduced Michigan’s sewer infrastructure investment by about 25 percent – or $20 million.
“With the summer tourist season rapidly approaching, people will once again wonder why so many of our beaches are closed,” said Ledbetter. “It’s critical that we take long-overdue steps to repair or replace our aging underground systems to protect Michigan’s most precious natural resource – its abundant and clean waters.”
MITA represents a broad spectrum of highway construction companies and suppliers that help build a better Michigan infrastructure from the bottom up. It has been a leading voice in efforts to secure adequate transportation funding at the federal and state levels. For more information visit www.mi-ita.com or www.drivemi.org.
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