Clinton River Watershed Report Card

Today, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, in partnership with CRWC and four other watershed and river organizations, released a suite of socio-environmental report cards. These cards aim to gauge the social, economic, and environmental conditions of Southeast Michigan and its individual watersheds, including the Clinton River and its watershed.

While the Clinton River is now known for its diverse fish and wildlife habitats and wide range of recreational opportunities, this wasn’t always the case. Rapid development and urbanization in the first half of the 20th century and a lack of clean water regulations resulted in heavy pollution and contamination from point and nonpoint sources. Since then, the health of the Clinton has increased dramatically.

The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science developed report cards for the Clinton, Detroit, Huron, River Raisin, and Rouge River watersheds to help illustrate the current status of the region’s waterways.

Both the Clinton River watershed and Southeast Michigan as a whole received C grades in these report cards. For the Clinton, the watershed report card reflects a highly urbanized watershed that is slowly healing from past wrongs while continuing to face numerous threats now and into the future. 

WHAT ARE WATERSHED REPORT CARDS?

Report cards are tools that help break down data from several indicators to reflect the current social, economic, and ecosystem health of a watershed. Watershed report cards are used around the world to describe ecosystem status, increase public awareness, and inform decision-makers so they can act to improve the health of a watershed. These report cards reflect the collective effort of dozens of stakeholders that manage land, water, and wildlife in Southeast Michigan.

These report cards were funded by the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation.