Grand Rapids Dumps Raw Sewage Into Lake Michigan

This has been going on for years and they get away with it
every time while they build their palaces!!!




Sewage waste flowing in Grand River






(Update, Kent County, October 12, 2004, 5:20 p.m.) One million gallons of raw sewage were accidentally released into the Grand River and state environmental officials want to know why.

County officials say the answers are simple: the system failed, but they didn't know just how serious that failure was until days later.

Kent County health officials have lifted their no contact advisory along the river as water quality tests indicated no unacceptable levels of bacteria in the water. The warning remains in effect in Ottawa County.

Word that a million gallons of raw sewage was accidentally dumped into the river last week was of little concern to the usual crowd that gathered for the salmon run near the 6th Street dam.

But the overflow has caused concern among state Department of Environmental Quality inspectors. While sewage overflows aren't uncommon in the Grand River, most cases involve diluted sewage forced into the river by heavy rain.

This case is different. "It is a fairly serious size and it is raw sewage which makes it more significant," said Chris Veldkamp of the DEQ.

The overflow was discovered Saturday at a sewage pumping station in Plainfield Township in Kent County. The pump and the back-up both failed. County officials didn't notify the public or anybody else that needed to know until Monday.

"We are looking at the time it happened and the notification that was made," added Veldkamp.

Under state law, the county was supposed to make those notifications within 24 hours of the spill.

But county officials say they couldn't put out the word any earlier because they didn't know the sewage had made it into the river.

County officials say there was nothing to indicate the pump failure had been severe enough to back sewage into the river when the problem was discovered Saturday. Two days later, they decided to double check.

"On Monday, we determined there was a manhole on the other side of the river that came off. We figured we'd lost approximately one million gallon into the river," said Norm VanDeRoer of the Kent County Department of Public Works.

Officials with the DEQ say those details will be sorted out as part of their investigation. But it doesn't appear the overflow will give the salmon any reprieve.

"I love the sport too much. I'm not going to let a little sewage ruin our day," Mike Harvey, a fisherman, told 24 Hour News 8.

People who do come into contact with the Grand River should shower, and fish caught in the water should be cooked thoroughly before eaten.