Video by: Jenny Kalish
Music by: A Story Told
Each week, Great Lakes Echo features a photo story about a different Area of Concern designated by the U.S. or Canadian governments in the Great Lakes basin. Guess where the area is located, based on the description of the site.
This week’s expert is Rose Ellison, environmental scientist for the U.S. EPA and task force leader for this site.
Summary of the area:
- The river was listed as an AOC in 1987 because of severe industrial pollution.
- The waters that make up the river are from the upper Great Lakes.
- One of three bi-national Areas of Concern.
- Pollution from heavy metals caused high bacteria concentrations in the water, degradation of fish and wildlife populations, animal deformities, habitat loss and restrictions on fish consumption.
- The area won’t likely be delisted as an Area of Concern until at least 2020.
View Week Sixteen Great Lakes Areas of Concern in a larger map
Last week’s answer: Grand Calumet River, Ind.
Photo credits: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Library of Congress; Michigan Department of Community Health; Wikipedia Commons; EPA.gov; Flikr: Kaylee.Kochanski, Shambrook Photography, Lexico, chunkysimon, findcardealers, zen, OnlyByGrace, forwarstl, The Legendary Cobo, BASF -The Chemical Company, mundane noodle.
