Oil Spill Cleanup

Help us shape the next river era!

The Kalamazoo River is notable for the great tragedy of historical industrial pollution in and along the river and its valley, with some of the most extensive contaminated sediments in the US.  It is perhaps surprising, then, that this watershed also harbors some of the best preserved examples of Midwestern U.S. habitats including headwater streams, wetlands and floodplains, and has several large areas of contiguous forests and grasslands that are publicly accessible in state parks and game areas.  Growing interest in local sustainability has created a sense of appreciation and shared ownership of the vital natural resources associated with the Kalamazoo River, its tributaries, lakes, and connected groundwater. In recent years there has been heightened interest among residents and governments in the region in pollution cleanup and prevention, smart growth, and habitat improvement and preservation.

During the 1800s, people used the abundant water resources of the Kalamazoo River for waterpower, navigation and fisheries.  Hydroelectric dams built along the river provided power as early as 1900, with 7 dams along the main river and over 100 in the overall watershed by the 1930s. Later the river became crucial for the development of manufacturing, including paper industries.  Unfortunately the river was also used to dispose of wastes, resulting in dramatic degradation of water quality that probably reached its worst point in the 1950s and 1960s.  The legacy of this past abuse of the river remains with us today in the form of contaminated sediments, particularly behind the dams where the reduced flow allowed sediment accumulation.

In 1953 a photo of a massive fish kill on Dumont Creek, a Kalamazoo River tributary, was featured on the cover of Life Magazine. That photo, entitled “Four acres of dead carp,” caught the nation’s attention, and public reaction contributed to the awakening of the U.S. environmental movement.  The fish kill presumably resulted when the Kalamazoo River oxygen levels crashed due to an overload of municipal and industrial organic waste in the river.  Later realization that there was widespread contamination of river fishes with synthetic industrial compounds known as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) eventually led to the designation of the lower river and its adjacent floodplain as a federal Superfund Site in 1990. The history of industrial and sewage contamination as well as growing recognition of the PCB contamination problem resulted in the widespread impression of the river as unsanitary and worthless, a view which still persists today in some people’s minds, but is highly undeserved.

In fact the ecological condition and aesthetic appearance of the river are greatly improved today. Gone are the days of unregulated industrial and municipal waste disposal, and the water clarity has improved dramatically.  Diverse fishes and clams are returning, the riparian lands along the river are reforested with native floodplain forest, and the water is generally safe for recreation.  Point sources of pollution from sewage and industrial activity are treated and their discharges are regulated under the Clean Water Act.  Increasing attention is paid to more diffuse sources of pollution that threaten groundwater as well as runoff.  Non-motorized land trails and water trails are being assembled on or along many water bodies including the Kalamazoo main stem. Waterfront property in urban areas is being redeveloped for other purposes, often emphasizing the aesthetic value of a view to the river.

While much progress has been made, significant challenges remain.  Point sources of pollution have been brought under regulation, but now nonpoint source pollution contributes most of the total nutrient loading and remains an intransigent problem that demands fresh solutions. The insidious but largely invisible problem of PCB contamination in the river system presents a special challenge because these highly persistent contaminants are widely dispersed through the river and its reservoirs, resulting in the need for fish consumption restrictions.  Options to clean up PCB-contaminated sediments along the lower river course are still being deliberated.  Overall, insufficient action has been taken so far to remove or isolate PCBs from the aquatic food chain, although the recent removal of the remnants of an old dam (Plainwell Dam) and the most contaminated sediments above it as well as contamination “hot spots” above the Plainwell diversion dam both represent encouraging steps toward a full cleanup.

The rupture of a major crude-oil pipeline near Marshall in late July 2010, which released ~20,000 barrels of oil, much of it entering the Kalamazoo River, will hopefully prove to be a unique event in the history of the region. Yet it serves as a reminder of the vulnerability of our water resources to accidental discharges and the need to be ever vigilant in safeguarding them. Had that oil reached the PCB-contaminated reaches of the lower river, or made it to Lake Michigan, or entered our groundwater aquifers, the impacts could have been even more severe – and protracted – than they were.

A challenge for the future is to advocate smart growth in place of traditional growth and development practices and policies, which continue to result in suburban sprawl and the consequent loss of open space, prime farm land, and important habitat such as wetlands. Unrestrained growth into rural areas results in stressed transportation networks and the weakening of agricultural- and tourism-dependent communities and support systems. Alternative development options are well documented and mechanisms to encourage them have been adopted in many other communities; we need to pursue the best and most appropriate of those ideas for the Kalamazoo River watershed.

Planning for the future always entails scenarios of population growth and economic development that are at best an educated guess, often relying heavily on extrapolation of past patterns of change. An additional and particularly daunting challenge for watershed planning is posed by the prospect of climate change and its uncertain implications for water resources. In southwest Michigan such changes are projected to include hotter summers, longer growing seasons, greater stress to plants including crops, and decreased water levels in lakes and flows in streams during the summer. At the same time, the general acceleration of the hydrological cycle may produce heavier precipitation events and thereby increase impacts of episodic storm runoff and river flooding. As the climate changes, we will have to adapt to new stresses on aquatic ecosystems and on our water supplies. Naturally, it behooves us as members of the global community to do all we can to help reduce our own contributions to climate change, for example by taking every opportunity to be more efficient and environmentally sustainable in our use of energy, and to reduce our consumption of material goods and food products that are produced at the cost of climate stability for future generations. Nonetheless, the balance of scientific evidence points to the inevitability of significant changes in climate, and while we can and should act now to reduce the severity of those changes, we will have no choice but to adapt to the changing climate of the future.

Vision

The Kalamazoo River, its tributaries, and the overall watershed will be managed, protected, and restored to maximize environmental, social and economic values and services, and this will be accomplished with involvement of a broad spectrum of community stakeholders.  Don't know what the watershed is?  Watch the video overview.

 Mission

The Kalamazoo River Watershed Council* is a public, non-profit 501(c)3 organization whose purpose is to work collaboratively with the community, government agencies, local officials and businesses to improve and protect the health of the Kalamazoo River, its tributaries, and its watershed.  Wonder how we are serving the watershed community?  Watch the video.

Brainstorm area

Example YouTube Videos

Example Online Photos

* The Kalamazoo River Watershed Council is the assumed name of this organization, which was incorporated under the name of the Kalamazoo River Public Advisory Council.