May 23, 2005

The Department of Environmental Quality has secured a $760,000 grant to provide real time water monitoring on the Detroit River. Real time monitoring will provide data to local, state, and federal governments to manage water resources and immediately detect spills and other unusual water conditions that could threaten drinking water supplies.

Macomb and St. Clair counties will be constructing a monitoring system along the St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair, including installing detection equipment, a database, and an alert system. The funding announced today will be used to purchase equipment to measure water quality at drinking water treatment plants along the Detroit River. The equipment will be deployed at critical locations in the waterways and can be moved to specific sites as needed in the event of an emergency.

“Real Time Monitoring allows us to safeguard drinking water intakes bordering international waters,” said DEQ Director Steven E. Chester. “This system will detect and provide early notification of chemicals that threaten our water system, and will keep people safe.”

The DEQ has been working with officials from Southeast Michigan and Canada to reduce the hazards of chemical spills originating on both sides of the border, and to develop methods to protect drinking water intakes. Real time monitoring equipment will immediately alert officials to potential threats to water supplies, allow them to shut off water intakes before any hazardous materials are able to contaminate drinking water supplies, and help identify those responsible for the spill.

The Michigan Homeland Protection Board approved the grant from funds provided by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Editor’s note: DEQ news releases are available on the department’s Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

Revised May 23, 2005 by Pat Watson