Michigan allocates $89 million to clean and revive Detroit and Kalamazoo rivers
Governor Gretchen Whitmer unveiled an $89 million “Reclaim the Rivers” program to remove contaminated sediment and restore habitat in the Detroit and Kalamazoo rivers.
Michigan officials revealed an $89 million initiative, called Reclaim the Rivers, to tackle decades-old industrial pollution in the Detroit and Kalamazoo rivers. The effort, announced by Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Detroit’s Belle Isle, is coordinated by EGLE and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Roughly $50 million will finance PCB sediment removal in the Detroit River, a prerequisite for lifting fish-consumption advisories and improving water quality.
An additional $25 million is earmarked for sediment cleanup, dam-related work, and habitat upgrades in the Kalamazoo River watershed, which has long suffered from paper-mill waste. The final $14 million will support restoration projects on other state waterways. Money derives from pollution settlements with companies including Monsanto and the former Morrow Dam operator, and officials say the seed funding should attract further billions over the next 15 years, aiming for transformational change by 2040.
Why it matters
Cleaning these rivers will boost water quality, revive fish populations and expand recreation for communities along the Great Lakes.
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