E-coli and Taxes

When human made drain infrastructure fails, breaks, becomes outdated,
leaks occur affecting recreational activities on the waterways.
Large amounts of tax dollars are spent battling E-coli in Oakland/Macomb counties.
The Red Run is primarily OAKLAND COUNTY stormwater aka rainwater
along with City of Warren drainage infrastructure in Macomb County.

Red Run Improvements

Apparently huge amounts of money from a shovel ready project
initiated by Oakland County went into the Red Run using our tax dollars $.
What are the results, where is the press, media, television reports… ???

Have the E-Coli counts dropped in 2012 ; are they expected to drop in 2013 ?
Macomb County doesn’t exactly make the info easy to find, it’s buried a bit.

Not one state governmental agency recommends swimming in the Clinton River
as it flows past Warren, Sterling Heights, Fraser, Mt. Clemens, Harrison Township.
Obviously they all have strong concerns about what’s in the river water.

The City of Warren, - contracts - the folks at the
Clinton River WaterShed Council,
for a Public Education Program (PEP)
and Outreach on Storm Water Impacts.
The Red Run essentially is the South Clinton River.
Hazards associated with illicit discharges and
the improper disposal of waste fall under the
(PEP) contract with City of Warren, Michigan.

Let’s talk E-coli fecal bacteria in the Red Run Drain
flowing into the Clinton River and out to Lake St. Clair.

Approximately 50% of fecal bacteria are Human and
the other 50% is waterfowl, birds, dogs, cats, etc.
Genetic sequence tracking of which fecal bacteria it is;
matters a lot, as only humans use toilets and outhouses.
Waterfowl also play a significant role in fecal bacteria contamination.
Either way – how it all enters the recreational waterways is important.

Environmental Health Services – MACOMB COUNTY
http://www.macombcountymi.gov/publichealth/EH/EHPrograms.htm

The Macomb County webpage says nothing about E-Coli in its name.
Their spreadsheet doesn’t say E-coli on it anywhere,
BUT surface water testing is all about E-coli testing.
Notice it’s just raw data, no conclusions, no analysis, no comparisons.

Surface Water Testing Data under Environmental Health Services
http://www.macombcountymi.gov/publichealth/EH/SurfaceWaterTestData.htm

2012 – The E-Coli count spreadsheet for Red Run.
http://www.macombcountymi.gov/publichealth/eh/Documents/RedRunBear2012.pdf

2011 – The E-Coli count spreadsheet for Red Run.
http://www.macombcountymi.gov/publichealth/EH/Documents/RedRunBear2011.pdf

Historical Data for the Red Run Drain/Bear Creek Watershed
http://www.macombcountymi.gov/publichealth/EH/SurfaceWaterArchiveData.htm

Print them out, and compare them side-by-side.
Of course different years had different weather patterns
of precipitation/heat/humidity/duration/intensity

How much TAX MONEY was spent and what are the results ?
We are fast approaching 2013 with all its challenges before us.
Do you feel Oakland/Macomb & Clinton River representatives have
explained where the money went and what the results were ?

CONTACT – Macomb County Public Health
http://macombcountymi.gov/publichealth/contactus.htm

I know it’s cold/wet right now , not exactly beach weather,
but election season is upon us and tax money is precious.
Vote accordingly – ask questions, understand the issues.
Infrastructure is VERY important for clean water.
Getting maximum efficiency out of every tax dollar spent is vital.

Red Run Combined Sewer Areas

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