Press Release |
Address: | E-mail: | |
| 6520
Mercantile Way, Ste 5
Lansing, MI 48911 |
dholtschlag@usgs.gov | ||
| U.S. Department of the Interior | |||
| U.S. Geological Survey | |||
| Release | Contact: | Phone: | Fax: |
| August 21, 2001 | David Holtschlag | (517) 887-8910 | (517) 887-8937 |
DETROIT WATER AND SEWERAGE DEPARTMENT WILL LAUNCH NEW PROJECT TO ENHANCE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION
On August 28, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD), in cooperation with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), will begin a new phase in a project intended to plot the flow of the waters in the St. Clair-Detroit River Waterway. The results will be used to create a computer-based flow model that will enable DWSD to better protect the drinking water supply for the nearly four million people in southeast Michigan it serves.
The model is being developed for the Michigan Source Water Assessment Program by USGS through funding agreements with MDEQ and DWSD. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is assisting under contract with MDEQ, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers through a contract with USGS. The U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Environment Canada are also involved.
Scientists will set 10 buoys adrift in the Detroit River near Lake St. Clair.
Equipped with Global Positioning System units, the buoys will transmit their
positions every 90 seconds. Dave Holtschlag - USGS project chief for this study
- said that data will help scientists understand the general movement and dispersion
of particles in the waterway. The movement of the buoys - whether they stay
together or disperse as they float downstream - will help assess the susceptibility
of public water supply intakes to pollution from various sources.
--USGS--
Water Resources Division, Michigan
District