Work sites may be along small streams or main branches of the Rouge Volunteers spend their time removing debris from the river and its flood plain. A major effort involves removing, or simply moving, logs that are jamming the river and causing flooding or erosion. Many sites no longer remove all the trees and branches that fall into the river. They are using the woody debris, instead, to help reduce streambank erosion, slow down the flow of the river after storms, and create wildlife habitat.

In recent years, the FOTR "annual spring clean-up" has turned its local focus outward. We have teamed up with other watersheds throughout southeast Michigan t

Restrictions on Dredging Activities:

· Phase I elimination of raw sewage and the protection of public health for approximately 40 percent of the combined sewer area

The oldest and most heavily populated and industrialized area in southeast Michigan is located within the Rouge River Watershed. The Rouge River has four main branches totaling 125 miles of waterways primarily flowing through Wayne and Oakland counties, with some headwaters in Washtenaw County. The Rouge drains a 438 square mile area that includes more than 400 lakes and ponds, and more than 50 miles of parkland along its banks. The river winds its way through 48 communities and provides recreational opportunities for more than 1.5 million people. The lower four miles of the river are maintained as a shipping channel from the turning basin to the river's mouth at the south end of Zug Island. Rouge River priorities include elimination of CSOs and SSOs, nonpoint source pollution control, industrial discharge pretreatment, peak storm water discharge reductions and contaminated site restoration.

The best way to stop storm drain misuse is to get involved. Volunteer efforts of this kind have had a great effect on stopping pollution. One approach communities across the country have used to keep storm drains clear of pollutants has been to stencil a slogan on nearby storm drains. People have stenciled slogans like "Don't Dump on the Bay" or "Dump No Waste, Drains to River" on local storm drains to alert people that water from drains goes directly to the closest stream, river, lake or ocean.

Working with the local communities, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) established rigorous "Criteria for Success in CSO Treatment" to evaluate whether the CSO basins meet the Phase I goals of elimination of raw sewage discharges and protection of public health. A detailed evaluation study of the CSO control basins completed to date continues to examine the performance of the facilities and the water quality impacts of their discharges. The results of the evaluation study, coupled with efforts to control storm water and other pollution sources in the watershed, will provide the basis for the Phase II and Phase III CSO control program on the remaining CSO sources in the watershed. In addition, the information gained from the evaluation of design storms and control technologies will be useful nationwide on determining cost effective CSO controls to meet water quality standards.It is very important to note that the MDEQ has certified that the nine operating basins meet the Phase II Criteria for Success in CSO Treatment for the elimination of raw sewage discharges and protection of public health. Also, three basins have been certified as achieving the Phase III goal of meeting water quality standards at times of discharge. This certification is expected on the remaining six basins very soon. The tenth CSO basin, River Rouge, became operational in March 2002. Its performance will be evaluated over the next two years.

The Rouge River RAP was completed in 1989 and has been heralded as a model for community involvement and public support. The process of implementing and further updating the RAP is ongoing. MDEQ and its partners will be using a biennial progress report card as a mechanism to help celebrate implementation, make mid-course corrections, provide public accountability, and further develop the RAP. The last Rouge Report Card was issued in 1999. MDEQ and the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) issued the first Rouge River RAP Annual Progress Report in 1992. MDEQ, in cooperation with RRAC, updated the RAP in 1994 and issued a Rouge River RAP Progress Report in 1998.

EPA, along with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Wayne County Department of Environment, Rouge Remedial Action Plan Advisory Council, and others are members of the Rouge River Project Policy and Steering Committees. In addition, EPA awarded $288 million to

Some common words found in the essay are:
Rouge River, Rouge Project, Coordinator Storm, River Watershed, Wastewater Primer, CSO Treatment, Rouge Volunteers, Lakes Basin, Detroit POTW, Middle Branch, rouge river, water quality, rouge project, combined sewer, storm water, fish wildlife, rouge river watershed, wet weather, river watershed, cso control, storm drains, department environmental quality, cso control program, combined sewer overflows, rouge river rap,
Approximate Word count = 3535
Approximate Pages = 14 (250 words per page double spaced)