Project aims to cut sewage dumping

[Spiel]

Project aims to cut sewage dumping

 

 

Feb. 8, 2010

STEVE NEAVLING / FREE PRESS

 

 

The more than 20 billion gallons of raw and partially treated sewage dumped annually into metro Detroit waterways would be reduced by up to 20% under an ambitious project under state review.

 

The 25-year, $814-million project by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department is designed to upgrade the aging system.

 

DWSD is asking the state Department of Natural Resources and Environment to approve the plan, which includes a 5.5-mile tunnel to store excess storm water that often overwhelms the system, forcing billions of gallons of sewage to be dumped into lakes, rivers and streams.

 

"Given the extraordinary economic condition of our region, this clearly outlines the best, most affordable alternative," said George Ellenwood, department spokesman.

 

The updates are being required by the state Department of Natural Resources and Environment after the city scrapped a $1.2-billion project last year to build a 7-mile-long Upper Rouge Tunnel to store excess storm water.

 

The DNRE is to detail the plan at a public meeting Wednesday at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

 

The Detroit water department plans to finance the project with sewer rates and federal funding. Officials must convince the state that the project will reduce sewer overflows that threaten waterways with a toxic cocktail of bacteria, parasites, viruses and chemicals. Sewage and storm water can make people ill and are a prime cause of beach closures and bans on fishing, swimming and canoeing.

 

Environmentalists expressed cautious optimism.

 

"We have to make sure this project has a firm schedule because all too often these time lines get extended," said Melissa Damaschke, the Great Lakes regional representative for the Sierra Club. "We've got to figure out solutions and stop dragging our feet. One drop of sewage in our water is too much."

 

The project's cornerstone is a $484-million storage tunnel between Warren Avenue and McNichols in Detroit to capture excess storm water.

 

The project also includes $50 million in so-called green alternatives, including replacing vacant structures with grass and trees to absorb storm water.

 

"The more that storm water can be absorbed into the ground, rather than being pushed into the Rouge and Detroit rivers, the better," Ellenwood said.

 

The project is expected to eliminate up to 4 billion gallons of raw and partially treated sewage that is primarily dumped into the Detroit and Rouge rivers.

 

"The fact remains that they are still the single largest sewage polluter in the Great Lakes basin, and they are still polluting the Rouge and Detroit rivers, which flow directly into Lake Erie," Damaschke said.

 

Ellenwood defended the sewer system, saying metro Detroit has spent more than $2.5 billion on sewer upgrades since 1990 that have dramatically decreased sewage overflows.