The Clinton River Watershed Council (CRWC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting, enhancing and celebrating the Clinton River, its watershed and Lake St. Clair. The council was formed in 1972 as an association of local governments under the authority of the Michigan Local Rivers Management Act of 1964. For more than 30 years, CRWC has served to coordinate the efforts of local governments, businesses, community groups and individuals in improving water quality, promoting innovative watershed management techniques, and celebrating the river as a natural and recreational resource. In 1994, the council reorganized as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, which allows CRWC to obtain funding from grants and private donors. Today, we are supported by local and county government membership dues, business sponsorships, state, federal and private grants, and individual contributions. Click here to find out how you can support CRWC. CRWC consists of four full-time and two part-time staff and a 20-member Board of Directors. The council provides programs and services in the areas of watershed management, education and stewardship, including our well-known Stream Leaders, Adopt-A-Stream, River Day, and Clinton Clean-Up programs. Click here to find out more about our programs and services.

Headwaters of the Clinton River, Springfield Township

Lower River, Harrison Township

Our Contact Information:

contact@crwc.org Phone: 248-601-0606 Fax: 248-601-1280 Mailing Address: 101 Main Street, Suite 100 Rochester, MI 48307	We participate in GuideStar, the on-line standard for nonprofit accountability.

Join the CRWC E-Mail Listserve!
CRWC maintains an e-mail listserve (hosted by Yahoo! Groups) to share information about issues and events of interest in the Clinton River watershed. To join the listserve, send an email to contact@crwc.org with "Join listserve" in the subject line. In the message, please give your full name and a brief explanation of why you would like to join the listserve.

Or, click here to sign yourself up via the Yahoo! Groups website.

What is a Watershed, Anyway?
A watershed is another word for a river basin. It's an area of land that drains into a common body of water. Ever wonder where all that rain and melting snow goes when it washes down the drain in the parking lot? In most of Macomb County, the eastern half of Oakland County, and small areas of southern Lapeer and St. Clair counties, this water makes its way into the Clinton River and eventually out to Lake St. Clair. The land that drains into the Clinton River covers 760 square miles and includes over 1,000 miles of streams in addition to the 80-mile-long main branch.

Map of the Clinton River Watershed

Clinton River Subwatersheds
More than 1.4 million people in over 60 municipalities inhabit the watershed. The Main Branch of the Clinton River is divided into three "subwatersheds" - Upper, Main and East. The river's four largest tributaries have their own subwatersheds - Paint Creek, Stony Creek, North Branch and Red Run. Water within each of these subwatersheds flows into the Clinton River and eventually into Lake St. Clair. Water that falls within the Lake St. Clair subwatershed doesn't enter the Clinton River. It drains directly into Lake St. Clair. Which subwatershed do you live in and/or work in? Click here to find out!

Land use within the watershed is varied: the southern portion is urban, the middle section is made up of rapidly-developing suburbs, and the northern region is rural. The condition of the river and its tributaries varies dramatically, from runoff and pollution problems in urban areas, to healthier waters with thriving trout fisheries in suburban and rural areas. Stormwater volume, sediment and bacteria continue to be the most prominent pollutants challenging water quality and habitat.

Geological History of the Clinton River Watershed

Challenges Facing the Clinton River
Water quality in the Clinton River has improved dramatically over the past thirty years. Industrial discharges are now regulated under the Clean Water Act. While live fish couldn't be found from Pontiac to the mouth of the Clinton in the 1960s, a large, varied fishery exists today. Many people enjoy canoeing, fishing, boating and riverfront parks throughout the watershed.

The Clinton is typical of an urban river. When it rains, urban and suburban development in the watershed result in higher river flows than we see in natural watersheds. Water running off of our yards and paved surfaces (including roads, sidewalks, rooftops and parking lots) discharges into our waterways, carrying with it dirt, fertilizers, pesticides, oils, metals and other pollutants. The sheer volume of water entering the river during storm events results in significant erosion and sedimentation.

More than 200 sites within the Clinton River Watershed are listed as contaminated, with 27 on the Environmental Protection Agency's "Superfund" list and four on the National Priority List. The watershed, which drains urban southern Oakland and Macomb counties, is listed as one of the 42 Areas of Concern in the Great Lakes. Sediments contaminated with heavy metals, PCBs, oil and grease are polluting Bear Creek and the Red Run Drain. Degraded biota, low dissolved oxygen, heavy sedimentation, excessive nutrients, pesticides and bacteria are also problems here.

Other challenges in the watershed involve coordinating the efforts of agencies responsible for water management at the federal, state and local level. New funding sources are also needed for water quality monitoring, pollution prevention programs and local water management activities.

Opportunities
Thanks to grant funding from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the EPA, several projects have been implemented by the Clinton River Watershed Council, including an urban runoff plan and public outreach campaign for Bear Creek, the Stony Creek wetlands and nonpoint source pollution projects, an onsite sewage management project, and illicit discharge investigations in Bear Creek. For more information on these activities, check out our Programs page.

Local governments, supported by local citizens and developers, can play key roles in wetland use and protection through coordination with MDEQ permitting, local wetland ordinances, local planning for wetland management, and design of the local stormwater system. They can also work together with the Watershed Council and MDEQ and private consultants to tackle stormwater management.

Management efforts by lake associations and lakeshed planning by local governments can play a vital role in protecting the water quality of lakes, avoiding conflicting lake uses and protecting lakefront property values.

Opportunities to enhance recreational opportunities along the Clinton include public support for acquisition of local parks and natural areas along the river, river corridor protection planning and implementation, and implementation of local and county-wide trails networks.