Lack of funding threatens Detroit’s water monitoring system

By on September 16, 2011


Detroit’s drinking water monitoring system, which looks for chemicals and oil products from undetected spills at 13 intakes at water treatment plants in Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair and Detroit rivers is in danger of shutting down by years end due to lack of funding.

Macomb and St. Clair county health department officials and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality are scheduled to meet to discuss ways to maintain the monitoring system that stretches from Port Huron to Wyandotte.

According to the press, Macomb County interim deputy health officer, Gary White, said drinking water for just about everybody on municipal water comes from the waterways. Additionally, Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel’s Water Resources Advisory Council is trying got come up with ways to earn more money because the cost to have the system fully operational is estimated at about $1 million a year. However, the system is running on about $210,000 a year.

Although there is no funding at the state level, government officials such as State Representative Andrea LaFontaine are continuing to search for ways to keep the system going and ensure healthy water quality for residents.

Read the complete story at Detroit Free Press.

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