Watch What's Flowing Into Lake St. Clair (It Isn't Pretty): ICYMI

ST. CLAIR SHORES, MI — There’s an old maxim that describes an ongoing situation at Lake St. Clair’s beaches. For decency’s sake, let’s just call the on-again, off-again closures of the popular beaches a “same story, different day” kind of tale.

The beach at Veterans Memorial Park, one of St. Clair Shores’ best parks, has been closed three times this year by the Macomb County Health Department, the longest for 23 days between July 19 and Aug. 11.
It was closed for 70 days in 2015, and was closed 14 times in 2014, 16 times in 2013 and 67 times in 2011., according to public records. During the years of 2010, 2009 and 2008, it was closed for 70, 77 and 73 days, respectively.

The story is the same all along the coast.

The reason? Elevated levels of E. coli bacteria, according to the Macomb County Health Department, which monitors water quality and submits reports to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
E. coli bacteria gets into the water in a variety of ways, especially during heavy rainfall events, according to a report by The Macomb Daily.

It’s also the result of aging infrastructure that allows large quantities of raw sewage to flow into public waterways, according to the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association, which ranked Macomb County No. 2 on its 2011 “dirty dozen” list, behind Wayne County. More than 1.1 billion gallons of sewage from system overflows occurred that year.

The list is no longer maintained, but Lance Binoniemi, MITA’s vice president of government affairs, said the beach closings are a sign of the times.

“Michigan has an infrastructure underground that is up to 100 years old,” Binoniemi told the newspaper. “In some places there are still main water lines that are made out of wood.”

So, what’s being done about it?

Not much, partly because some communities don’t know the extent to which the underground infrastructure has diminished, Binoniemi said, but also because the Michigan Legislature declined to include in this year's budget a $165 million infrastructure fund to help communities upgrade their systems.

“It’s tough for a lot of communities with lowering populations and a lack of funds to invest money in lines that are not seen,” Binoniemi said. “Potholes in the roads and bridges that are deteriorating are easy for taxpayers to see but as long as they’re getting clean water out of their taps and their toilets are flushing they think everything else is fine.”

The problem is greater than the inconvenience to swimmers, though.

St. Clair Shores resident Mark Gutow, 40, has started Save Lake St. Clair, a group that aims to put pressure government officials to address the problem.

In May, the group posted a dramatic video that shows the magnitude of sewage overflows and the resulting destruction to Lake St. Clair, wild and sea life and, potentially, humans, because 40 percent of Michigan’s population gets its drinking water from Lake St. Clair.

“Guarantee if you will watch this entire video you will be shocked scene after scene with the most shocking scene at the 3:40 mark,” Gutow wrote.

With a national spotlight on the Flint water crisis and its lead-contaminated drinking water, Gutow thinks the timing may be right to raise awareness of Lake St. Clair's problems, even though improving the situation could take a dozen or so years to complete.

The only way to motivate politicians to approve funds to fix ailing infrastructure is to show that drinking water is at risk, Gutow said.

“The first part of any problem is recognizing there is one,” he said.

» For much more on this, go to The Macomb Daily for a report by Gina Joseph and Norb Franz.

Video and screenshot: Save Lake St. Clair