New drainage project improves water quality of international waterway

摘要

Lake St. Glair's Metropolitan Beach in Macomb County, Michigan was closed most of the summer of 1994 due to persistent readings of high levels of Escherichia Coliform (E. Coli). Although the cause of the E. Coli was not conclusively identified, it had been alleged that some of this pollution could be attributed to Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) coming from the Red Run Drain. The Federal Clean Water Act of 1977 mandates that all discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States must be authorized by a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. The Southeastern Oakland County Sewer District System (SOCSDS) Twelve Towns Retention/Treatment Facility (RTF) was originally authorized to discharge treated combined sewer overflows (CSOs) into the Red Run Drain, a tributary of the Clinton River that flows to Lake St. Clair, an international waterway. This 2.2 mile-long RTF was one of the first CSO control projects constructed in the US. When completed in 1973, it was considered state-of-the-art.