Vile. “The Flint River was never the problem,” says Monique Wilhelm, the laboratory manager for the university’s department of chemistry and biochemistry. The city then launched an aggressive rehabilitation campaign, and in the past three years, crews have explored 21,298 homes and replaced lead service lines at 8,260. for Lake Michigan) and internal recycling of contaminants. The river runs through five mid-Michigan counties, including Gratiot County, where Alma College is located and where Borrello’s team does most of its monitoring. As a result of eutrophication, overfishing, Contaminants from industrial runoff is another issue many Michigan water supplies face. All rights reserved. “If you talk to the Farm Bureau, they would say that that's all leaky septic tanks,” Keeton told Circle of Blue. A straightforward modification might have prevented them from needing to. 80-90% of human exposure is a Michigan provided a response and supplementary data when asked to verify information provided by the EPA. It is the only of the Great Lakes to be entirely in the United States. The natural scientist “If you talk to the Farm Bureau, they would say that that's all leaky septic tanks,” Keeton told Circle of Blue. Digitization started in late 2015, and the University of Michigan helped design an algorithm to predict clusters with the highest likelihood of dangerous plumbing. Plagued by pollution. Heavy Michigan’s Water Quality 2020 – What’s the Top Water Problems in Major Cities of MI As you likely know, Michigan has access to one of the most massive water supplies in the United States. Unlike when the concrete river channel surrenders to native tree trunks, people couldn’t see the leaching lead. The most critical of these pollutants are: polychlorinated Regulations for CAFOs in Michigan are different than those for smaller farms. Bridge Michigan. These contemporary pollutants are the center of lively argument about water quality in the 21st century, a discussion whose consequences can be measured in regulatory costs, environmental degradation, and farm profits. Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically. and the wide spread presence of toxic substances in the early 1960's, the Trust in the invisible is a definition of faith. NSF 42, 53, 58 and 401 – Is it necessary to buy a certified water filter? Organochlorine compounds are persistent, ubiquitous, and toxic. The New York Times has compiled data on more than 200,000 facilities that have permits to discharge pollutants and collected responses from states regarding compliance. Flint tapped into Detroit’s municipal water system the following year to receive water sourced from Lake Huron and the Detroit River. through the straits between Lakes Michigan and Huron. Surface water is often alkaline, meaning Detroit residents must deal with hard water. The newest permit, revised this year, bans application on frozen ground and considerably limits application on fields. All donations are voluntary, but for as little as $1 you can become a member of Bridge Club and support freedom of the press in Michigan during a crucial election year. 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The Great Lake are so polluted because of the long retention times (for People brushed their teeth and served their pets all winter, and city officials ignored concerned citizens even after the local GM engine plant stopped using the water in December due to corrosion on its machines. “It’s a system that defines success as some people having it and some people not. “The regulations that these feedlots have to deal with are very different than what most industries have to deal with,” he said, adding that any farm with thousands of animals on it is “an industry and it needs to be treated as such.”. than 1% is from water. (J. Carl Ganter / Circle of Blue), September 28, 2020Jane Johnston, Circle of BlueMichigan Environment Watch. Violating these standards could result in a ban. Matt Cary is a third-generation farmer in Alma. In Gratiot County, it has been too easy for locals, government officials, and polluters themselves to turn a blind eye. Wil Speilmaker, 52, of Flint and his son, Thomas, 16, pick up trash along the river during a community clean up day. Why Is Fluoride In Water And How To Remove It, Bacteria In Well Water? Because it takes Campbell said that the findings in the plan can help the community come together, instead of continuing to point fingers at one another. Although scientifically accurate, a typical refrain in news pieces—the corrosive river—misleads in terms of human contact. The river is "one of the things that makes Flint beautiful," says Jameca Patrick-Singleton. We compared Farming is in the family’s blood, said Cary, who has worked on the farm since he was 16. We compared water pollution to an invasion of the United States by Canada. Pollution more broadly is affecting waterways in other parts of the country too. (J. Carl Ganter / Circle of Blue). Heavy rains and snow melts wash those salts into local watersheds. Plenty of construction happened in the interim centuries, but the information for which type of line connected to which homes existed on 100,000 paper index cards discovered in the water department’s basement. The While consuming lead has dire side effects, it rarely enters the system from the source being contaminated. Concrete slopes capped with wire fences flank the water. “Our permitted farms are family-owned businesses just like smaller farms.”, Keeton disagrees. The Flint River scribbles 142 miles through mid-Michigan, and a noticeable change occurs as it flows southwest into the city of Flint. Locals can recall a time when high levels of dangerous chemicals like, Nothing about the pollution in the Pine River is particularly unique. Journalism matters. The pollution were the Canadians, who managed to sneak, unobserved, into the US and built up an army and bases in a certain "Midwestern region". and recreation for over 200 years. We love our river. The crisis in Flint led to the discovery that many of the distribution systems in Michigan (and elsewhere) are antiquated and posing a risk to the water quality. The river runs through five mid-Michigan counties, including Gratiot County, where Alma College is located and where Borrello’s team does most of its monitoring. Lake Michigan also has the largest sport fishery on the Great Lakes. Your donation allows us to keep our Michigan-focused reporting and analysis free and accessible to all. so long to "flush" Lake Michigan (it takes 100 years for a complete change Full Story ». “And that’s when the system works,” Hall says. There At that time, the city's water service changed from nearby Detroit's system to the local Flint River, in an effort to save money. Dry skin and limescale stains are not uncommon for those using untreated, public water in Detroit. “If you talk to people that kind of sit down and do the math and study the environment around here, they're going to say, no, it's got to be mostly feedlot manure applications.” >>>>>. Period,” she said. Flint water treatment plant operators never added the crucial ingredient. it had an obvious natural science aspect to it, was really more of a social As you likely know, Michigan has access to one of the most massive water supplies in the United States. Color offered obvious clues that prompted residents to protest at city council meetings. Every year residents living around Lake Erie experience harmful algal blooms due to agricultural runoff. In Ohio, large-scale dairy and livestock farms that are too small to be classified as a CAFO aren’t regulated. “I'll be the first to tell you, some regulation is not a bad thing, because there's people out there that need that push a little more than others,” he said. A new public kayak and canoe access will also open this summer, around the time crews will excavate the last residential lead service lines. From spark plugs to engines to assembly, the GM locations dumped 10 million gallons of waste into the river every day, according to the Interior report. chemicals are derived from the basin’s resources. “Born and raised,” she says. The Integrated Report satisfies the listing requirements of Section 303(d) and the reporting requirements of Section 305(b) and 314 of the CWA. with water or airborne particulates. Most of the people raised a hand to agree. Get the latest updates - subscribe to receive TMDLs and Integrated Reporting (Clean Water Act Sections: 303d, 305b, and 314) emails. Kayaks and swimmers don’t disintegrate. Only facilities with active permits are shown; those that have closed or had permits terminated prior to May 5, 2009 are not included. consumption of certain fish. Gratiot County residents aren’t the only ones dealing with farm pollution. Lake Michigan supports a wealth of plant and animal life (biological Borrello has been monitoring the Pine River for nearly two decades, so he is attuned to the marks of a healthy ecosystem. CAFO waste can pollute surface water with an excess of phosphorus and nitrogen, two nutrients that cause algal blooms. Over the generations, the family acquired more land, transforming the farm into a large-scale operation, growing crops on 4,100 acres and raising over 2,000 cattle every year, earning it CAFO status. Similar to Grand Rapids, Warren features a single source water supply. Much of Michigan shares similar, if not identical, water supplies. containing  “the facts” on water pollution and we the explained our CAFOs aren’t the only suspected source of pollution in the Pine River, whose history with contamination dates back to the 1930s. Agricultural and industrial products such as iron ore, coal, limestone, Tests will continue, and according to Patrick-Singleton, the mayor won’t lift the city’s emergency declaration until the scientific and medical communities clear the drinking water. of that particular form of pollution. Grand Rapids sources its water primarily from Lake Michigan. He and his team of students and community members test water samples from the 103-mile-long river and its tributaries for an array of pollution indicators: nitrogen and phosphorus, bacteria and dissolved oxygen. Note: soil (80-90%), inhalation of air (5-10%), and from ingestion of water (less Agriculture, on the other hand, is the country’s leading cause of river pollution. diversity, including many plant and animal species found nowhere else in