On Wednesday evening, the Detroit River Canadian Cleanup (DRCC) hosted its 9th annual Detroit River Evening. The event was held virtually this year through a live webinar, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but continued the tradition of providing an opportunity for viewers to learn more about the Detroit River and how it is kept clean.
The DRCC and Remedial Action Plan progress was presented by Remedial Action Plan Coordinator for the Detroit River Canadian Cleanup, Jacqueline Serran. Serran said the importance of continuing on with the information session event was to showcase the progress that has been made with cleaning up the Detroit River.
“I think a lot of people forget, this is the water that they are drinking, and we want our water to be clean,” Serran said. “In 1987, the Detroit River was named an area of concern under the Great Lakes Policy Agreement, there are 14 indicators when it comes to environmental health and the Detroit River was described as impaired.”
Serran said in 2010, they jumped on getting the cleanup of the Detroit River started.
“We’ve been doing research and doing a lot of outreach to make sure the Detroit River is kept clean,” she said.
Mark Fitzpatrick, who works for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, explained that the Detroit River’s bacterial growth rates are along the same lines as some lakes.
“It’s aligned with the Hamilton Harbour, but it’s definitely doing a lot better than Toronto harbour.”
The Detroit River Evening lasted an hour, with six panelists providing details on the status and progress of initiatives regarding the clean up of the Detroit River.
