| Bear Creek is the stream that connects Center Line, Hazel Park, Madison Heights, and Warren. It carries rain and snowmelt runoff, or stormwater, into the Red Run Drain, the Clinton River, and on to Lake St. Clair. Except for two open sections, much of Bear Creek is buried in underground pipes. Nineteen square miles of land drain into Bear Creek.
Why should I care about Bear Creek?
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Bear Creek flows through the US Army Tank
Command grounds near 12 Mile and Mound roads. |
Bear Creek has become known as one of the most polluted streams in Michigan because of high levels of bacteria, sediment, and other pollutants. Because the water in Bear Creek eventually flows into Lake St. Clair, it's important to keep this water clean. Lake St. Clair is part of the system that supplies us with drinking water. It's also a fun place to swim, fish, and boat.
Although it might look small in comparison to the Great Lakes, the amount of pollution coming from the Bear Creek watershed adds up. Our individual actions do make a difference. |
What is stormwater?
When land is paved, rain and snowmelt can't soak into the ground. Instead, this stormwater runoff flows over parking lots, streets, and sidewalks into a catch basin that leads to underground pipes, known as storm drains. These drains join others from Center Line, Hazel Park, Madison Heights, and Warren and discharge directly into Bear Creek through large openings called outfalls.
Stormwater enters Bear Creek at the Lorraine Drain outfall near 13 Mile and Chicago roads.
What is stormwater pollution and where does it come from?
Would you believe it comes from you and me? Even if we don't mean to, many of our everyday activities add to stormwater pollution. On its way to a catch basin, stormwater picks up litter, car oil, pet waste, fertilizer, grass clippings, and other materials left on the sidewalks and streets. This polluted runoff washes into catch basins and flows straight into Bear Creek without being treated.
Stormwater pollutants, such as grass clippings and trash, nearly clog this catch basin.
If Bear Creek is meant for stormwater, what happens to the wastewater from my house?
Wastewater from your toilet, sink, shower, and washing machine empties into a different pipe, called a sanitary sewer. The sanitary sewer should lead to a wastewater treatment plant, where the water is cleaned before being discharged into a river. In some places, however, sanitary sewers are accidentally connected to storm drains and raw sewage does get into Bear Creek. Right now, communities are working together to identify and fix these "illicit connections."
Bear Creek involves several communities and thousands of people! What are local governments doing to clean it up?
Center Line, Hazel Park, Madison Heights, and Warren, along with Macomb and Oakland county agencies, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, and the Clinton River Watershed Council, developed the Bear Creek Restoration Project. Our goal is to clean up our waterways and improve the quality of life for Bear Creek community residents. With everyone's support, we can make it happen!
What can I do?
The good news is that by making small changes in our everyday habits, we can all do our part to prevent stormwater pollution. To learn how, check out our tip cards on-line or call the Clinton River Watershed Council at 248-601-0606 for a set of your own.
Last updated Wednesday, June 02, 2004 by CRWC.
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