LWV supports treatment of a river basin in its entirety, work for adequate studies, consideration of all the needs of the river basins, coordination of actions of governmental agencies, protection of the flood plains from misuse and filling, evaluation of the need for improvements, and elimination of water pollution.
LWV supports treatment of a river basin in its entirety, work for adequate studies, consideration of all the needs of the river basins, coordination of actions of governmental agencies, protection of the flood plains from misuse and filling, evaluation of the need for improvements, and elimination of water pollution.
Recognizing that watershed boundaries rarely coincide with governmental boundaries, the LWV believes that wastewater management, whether undertaken by one government or a combination of governments, should be planned, coordinated, and reviewed on a regional basis.
1. WASTEWATER TREATMENT
A. GOALS OF A WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM SHOULD INCLUDE:
1. Consideration of long range social, environmental and economic costs and benefits as well as immediate effects.
2. Improve water quality.
3. Concern for Lake Erie.
4. Preservation of natural drainage systems including lakes, rivers, floodplains and wetlands.
5. Health protection and resources recovery.
B. TO ACHIVE THESE GOALS and recognizing that local conditions vary, methods of wastewater management will vary, but could include:
1. Pollution control as close to source as possible.
2. Retention/detention, screening and/or filtering of storm water runoff.
3. Separation of storm and sanitary sewers.
4. Industrial pollution control.
5. Preventive measures such as street sweeping, catch-basin cleaning.
6. Limiting the use of deicing materials, fertilizers, etc.
C. LWVDMA SUPPORTS MEASURES THAT:
1. Encourage saving and planting of vegetation.
2. Protect wetlands and flood plains.
3. Require on-site detention in areas of new development.
4. Encourages open space preservation.
D. THESE CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED BY:
1. Enactment and enforcement of local ordinances and resolutions.
2. Requiring local governments to prepare an EIS when projects significantly affect water quality.
3. Participation of local governments in watershed councils.
4. Discouraging the establishment of mosquito abatement districts because of adverse effects on water quality.
5. Encouraging tax policies as an incentive to preserve drainage systems.
6. Having factual information provided to citizens so that there is an opportunity for a meaningful public input at all stages of the decision-making process.
7. Local officials should:
a. Take water quality into consideration when making land use decisions.
b. Consider the secondary consequences- economic, social and environmental when planning sewer development.
E. WATER TREATMENT PLANTS
1. The degree of water treatment should depend on local conditions, most importantly on the condition of receiving waters.
2. Secondary treatment is a minimum goal and advanced treatment should be sought.
3. Should be built with the potential for advanced treatment.
4. When determining treatment plants, the following should be considered:
a. The water quantity and quality of the natural river system.
b. The efficiency of operation.
c. Surface water flow in natural areas.
d. Cost effectiveness including transportation of sewage, ability to handle emergencies, social concerns and vulnerability to disaster.
5. Should be required to use methods to detect and treat severe types of polluted influents.
6. We favor modular construction and monitoring to prevent breakdowns of the systems and to protect receiving waters.
F. Recognizing that the treatment of water is costly, both financially and in terms of energy consumption, we favor a public education program in water conservation.
2. MEASURES TO IMPLEMENT THE LEAGUE GOALS IN THE ROUGE RIVER BASIN
A. Coordinated long range planning by state, county and local authorities for the entire River Rouge Basin in both flood control and pollution abatement, with special attention to environmental factors.
B. Establishment of a basin policy for river basin management at the state level.
C. Legislation that will protect and encourage proper treatment of the River Rouge and its flood plain and sufficient funds and machinery to enforce such legislation.
D. Management and development according to a basic policy and appropriate to the particular environmental needs of the River Rouge area.
E. Machinery that provides for research of alternative flood control and pollution abatement measures and an adequate framework to analyze framework to analyze alternative measures and make intelligent decisions.
F. Procedures to provide ample information and opportunity for citizen participation in planning and policy decisions which will affect the future of the River Rouge Basin area.
G. Termination of future plans for channelization of any portion of the River Rouge Basin area because of channelization:
1. Causes soil erosion as a result of cutting back of river banks and accompanying removal of plant growth.
2. Destroys plant and animal water life from sedimentation from soil erosion.
3. Causes more flooding in adjacent river and floodplain areas due to quicker runoff.
4. Induces pollution because the natural pollutant removal through plant root systems has been eliminated.
5. Destroys nesting and spawning areas of aquatic and small animal life.
6. Depletes ground water due to quick runoff.
7. Does not in any way upgrade the water quality of the river.
8. Is a very expensive process for the dubious benefits derived.
