Politics & Government

State Rep. Anthony Forlini to Host Water Quality Town Hall

State Rep. Anthony Forlini, R-Harrison Township, will hold a town Wednesday to discuss water quality and a review of the lake muck which has accumulated along the waterfront.

Three water quality specialists will be providing an update tonight on water testing of Lake St. Clair during the summer of 2011 by Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

The testing, done at the urging of State Rep. Anthony Forlini, R-Harrison Township, was conducted after residents reported a .

Initial reports in 2011 by the Department of Environmental Quality determined the muck along the shoreline was caused by algae and is found throughout the Great Lakes region.

Find out what's happening in St. Clair Shoreswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"We just never knew where this E. coli was coming from. We have some scientific back up for the first time as to what this DNA profile is of the E. coli," Forlini said at a recent St. Clair Shores City Council meeting. "We have data we never had before."

The initial findings by the DEQ determined the muck was comprised of a build-up of blue-green algae which is naturally occurring, but may be exacerbated in Lake St. Clair due to zebra mussels, storm water runoff and municipal waste water discharge.

Find out what's happening in St. Clair Shoreswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Further testing was conducted, and the findings, will be discussed at 6 p.m. Wednesday at MacRay Harbor.

Forlini invited the specialists to discuss the findings:

  • Erin A. Dreelin, associate director for the Center for Water Sciences, Michigan State University
  • Joan Rose, Homer Nowlin Chair in Water Research, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University
  • Kevin Goodwin, Aquatic Biologist, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality

For further information, call (517) 373-0113


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