City [Windsor] cleans up act as Detroit spews sewage

It was of interest that I read Dave Battagello's article in the Windsor Star (January 20, 2010) about the woes of Detroit's 80 billion gallons of excess sewage and other hazardous materials being dumped into the rivers and lakes bordering both cities. It would appear that as Windsorites we can now take that high road with regards to finger pointing as to the primary culprit (Detroit) for the sewage issues downriver and in Lake Erie. It was not that long ago that Windsor was the third largest polluter of sewage (in the province). The two current Windsor projects will eliminate 90% of the sewage overflow when completed, yet I do not think it is necessary to look across to our neighbours and ask "when will you fix your portion of our mutual problem". Windsor allocated the monies for the upgrades when the city coffers were abundant. Today, Detroit is in virtual bankruptcy; little chance for the city (or state) to allocate 2 billion dollars for the necessary upgrades. Windsor's foresight (luck?) in allocating funds when they (and the provence) did is not something to crow about. It is unlikely that the same funds would have been allocated today; our coffers are not abundant. The issue needs resolution, but it is not the City of Detroit's highest priority. In fact, I would be astonished to see the upgrades on any Detroit capital budget anytime over the next 10 to 15 years. Environment versus jobs - no contest in today's economy.

Windsor cleans up act as Detroit spews sewage into river

DETROIT -- While Windsor builds a $60-million riverfront basin to stop raw sewage overflows, the City of Detroit is dumping billions of gallons of untreated waste into the Detroit River.

The Detroit Free Press reported Tuesday Detroit’s ancient sewer system allowed 37.2 billion gallons of raw and partially treated waste into our shared waterways the past two years.

The newspaper studied state records and found record levels of bacteria polluting the river and other area water because of outdated and inadequate sewers.

“The City of Detroit’s wastewater treatment plant is the largest source of sewage-related contaminants in the entire Great Lakes,” said Matthew Child, director of watershed restoration for the Essex Regional Conservation Authority.
Story Continued Here

 Detroit should really pick up the slack with this issue. We share this water source and should not be held accountable for their mess. To be fair, I am unaware of how much waste we put into the river, but 37.2 billion gallons of sewage over two years should be a major concern to all parties.

Spike Bell's "Memoirs of a Border City"

In light of our first assignment to find pictures which symbolize our proximity to the international border, I thought it was particularly interesting that I came across the release of a new book titled “Memories of the Border City” by Spike Bell. The Windsor Star featured an article on January 9 discussing this book and the author’s development of the book throughout his career. The book includes photographs of events, people, and monuments in both Windsor and Detroit since the 1950s. In doing so it provides a useful tool for tracking the history which shaped both Windsor and Detroit and the relationship between them. It may be one of the first books which recognizes the international relationship and the way the border has effected both neighbouring cities.