The cities we live in are a bigger source of pollution than all of our factories put together. In fact, stormwater runoff is the single greatest threat to our water quality and watershed health nationwide. More than 40% of all our nation’s waters fail to meet water quality standards for their designated use as a source for drinking.

Historical industrialization and urbanization of the Rouge River left the watershed in severely degraded condition. In 1987, Wayne County implemented an illicit discharge elimination plan (IDEP) and in 1989 a Remedial action plan (RAP) was implemented for the Rouge, along with the first Voluntary Watershed based General Storm Water Permit”, which was eventually adapted for use as a statewide permit. Fifty communities participated in the watershed planning efforts, although only 45 were actually in the watershed. As part of this effort, advisory committees were formed and the seven sub-watershed groups eventually evolved into the “Alliance of Rouge Communities (ARC). This was the model for what is now the national Stormwater Permitting Program.

Although initially School districts had the option of being “nested” within these permits, the nature of the requirements and arrangement of “no liability” for the nested districts complicated the inter-relationship of cooperation. Because School districts have the potential to contribute significantly to non-point source pollution within the watershed, it was recently determined that the highest degree of water quality and reparation to impacted waters would be most efficient and effective if the schools adopted individual general permits.

To Report an Illegal Discharge or Concern:
Please contact the Operations Department at (248) 865-3684