St. Clair River

From Great Lakes Wiki

Contents 1 Background 2 Environmental Concern 2.1 Erosion 2.2 Pollution 3 Related Pages 4 External Links

Background

The St. Clair River flows southward from Lake Huron to Lake St. Clair. It is a key connection between the upper and lower Great Lakes and provides over 90% of the average annual water supply to Lake Erie. It creates a broad delta near its mouth at Lake St. Clair and serves as a boundary between the United States and Canada, with Port Huron, MI to one side and Sarnia, ON to the other. The two communities are connected by the twin-span Blue Water Bridge, one of the busiest transportation arteries between the United States and Canada.

Environmental Concern

Erosion

The St. Clair River drains water from Lakes Huron and Michigan. But since the 1970s, dredging, sand mining, and other human activities have contributed to the creation of deep gouges in the river bottom. Riverbed erosion of the St. Clair River has contributed to an 8 to 13 inch drop in the water levels of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.

Pollution

Sarnia, Ontario is the home to one of the largest petrochemical complexes in the world. This site, known as “Chemical Valley,” is home to one of Canada’s largest hazardous-waste dumps. During a widespread power outage in August 2003, a company called Royal Polymers, Ltd. spilled nearly 300 gallons of vinyl chloride into the river and did not report it for five days. <googlemap lat="43.028745" lon="-82.378235" zoom="9" width="325" height="500"> 42.441701, -82.661133, Lake St. Clair 42.882002, -82.468872, St. Clair River 43.074907, -82.328796, Lake Huron 42.996612, -82.424927, Bluewater Bridge </googlemap>

Related Pages

Areas of Concern

External Links