Dead Lakes
Michigan’s waterways have experienced a great deal of pollution over the last two centuries, everything from farm-run off to microplastics. Frank Egerton has argued that they suffer from three major sources: heavy industry, manufacturing, and agriculture. Significant adverse human impacts upon the lakes essentially began after the U.S. Civil War, in 1865. He has also gone on to say that: "The first large-scale blow to the lake’s ecology came with the logging boom that flourished in the second half if the 19th century. Nearly every stream and river was choked with logs en route to the lumber mills near the lake. These logs gouged and scraped river bottoms and banks, destroying vegetation and spreading sediments over spawning beds. Lumber mills dumped massive volumes of sawdust into rivers and bays, further smothering spawning grounds. Some rivers, such as the Milwaukee River, were so choked with sawdust that lake fish were physically unable to enter to spawn” (Egerton, 2018).
Rapid industrialization in the 20th century left a lasting mark. Since the late 1950’s, the Great Lakes have seen bacteria-filled beaches, lakes filled with algae, and fish contaminated through industrial waste. There have been continual threats to the drinking water supply, wildlife populations, and human health since the drastic decline in the 1970’s. Dan Egan pointed out that the Lakes industrial plundering and wanton pollution finally spurred the passage of the landmark Clean Water Act in 1972, which dramatically reduced waste tumbling into the Lakes (Death and Life, xiv).
Stormwater and wastewater account for nutrient pollution. Stormwater runs across hard surfaces and carries pollutants into local waterways. Sewage and septic systems sometimes fail to remove all nitrogen and phosphorous before discharging it into waterways. The largest source of pollution in the Great lakes is phosphorus runoff from farmlands. Cyanobacteria blooms—blue-green algae—are a frequent occurrence in Lake Erie, Saginaw Bay, and Green Bay. The blooms kill fish and create an odor on the water. Algae blooms feed on the presence of foreign nutrients and warm temperatures and light. Climate change coupled with pollution creates a suitable environment for the growth of these blooms. Cyanobacteria is a natural part of lakes, ponds, and waterways; however, some species create toxins and form harmful blooms. The excess algal growth threatens biodiversity and depletes oxygen. Some of the most prominent disasters have made headlines.
In the 1960s, Lake Erie was declared “dead” because the runoff fed cyanobacteria and created harmful algae blooms polluting the water. The Osecola County Herald reported in 1965 that “one quarter of Erie’s area...has become lifeless desert, devoid of oxygen” (Aug 19, p6). Similarly, a year later, the Commercial Record headlined a story titled “IS LAKE ERIE A DEAD LAKE?” The article detailed that “many people already have the notion that modern civilization has made the lake useless and unproductive” (Jan 6, p3). In 1965, the Commercial Record informed readers that the state legislature had launched a plan to combat pollution. The fight for the Lakes was to save them from becoming “the dead lake” Erie already was from water pollution. It wasn’t until 1974 that Lake Erie showed signs of revitalization. More recently, in 2014, Toledo shut down their drinking water system because of toxins. To mitigate the problem, the U.S. and Canadian governments, including Michigan and Ohio, are encouraging farmers to voluntarily reduce the number of fertilizers and manure they put on fields. They also are encouraging farmers to plant grass buffer strips between cropland and waterways.
Other pollution concerns are plastics. 22 million pounds of plastics from the U.S. and Canada run into the Great Lakes each year. The equivalent of 100 Olympic-sized swimming pools filled with plastic bottles is dumped into Lake Michigan annually. Trash beaches hurt wildlife and are getting into the drinking water and even Great Lakes beer. It crumbles into tiny pieces and becomes impossible to pick up. 80% of litter picked up in cleanups is plastic. The micro-plastics are consumed by fish and enter the food chain. Although minuscule in size, micro-beads also pose significant impact on the Great Lakes.
