The Clinton River Watershed (CRW) covers 760 square miles of southeast Michigan. It includes more than 1,000 miles of streams and flows 80 miles from its headwaters to Lake St. Clair. The area covered includes most of Macomb County, a large part of Oakland County and smaller areas of Lapeer and St. Clair counties. Currently, the Clinton River is listed as an "Area of Concern" by the EPA.

Areas of Concern are defined as geographic areas that fail to meet the general or specific objectives of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA). This failure has caused or is likely to cause impairment of beneficial use of the area's ability to support aquatic life. In 1987, the United States and Canada renewed their commitment to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Amongst other objectives, the agreement identified 43 areas of Concern, one of which is the Clinton River Watershed. As it stands now, the CRW is experiencing impairment in 8 of 14 total beneficial use designations. This means that the CRW is experiencing:

• Restrictions on fish and wildlife consumption
• Undesirable algae growth
• Degradation of fish and wildlife populations
• Beach closings
• Degradation of aesthetics
• Degradation of benthos (bottom sediment)
• Restriction on dredging activities
• Loss of fish and wildlife habitat

After years of study, it has been determined that storm water is the single greatest source of contamination in the Clinton River.

Storm water pollution comes from many different sources including:

• Fertilizer and pesticides
• Oil and fluid from cars, trucks motercyles and ATVs
• Pet waste
• Illegal disposal chemicals and other substances down storm drains

Storm water touches everyone so it is important that we all work together to prevent contamination of storm water runoff.

How much do you know about watersheds? Take the Watershed Quiz.