Metro Beach, for instance, was closed most of 1994 and all of August this year. The presence of bacteria is a sign that water is contaminated by human or animal waste, which often contains disease-carrying organisms. Polluted may be too broad a word to describe the lake, but there are near-shore conditions that shouldn't have to be there. Beaches shouldn't have to be closed because of the risk of illness. The sources of contamination that have closed beaches are literally right in Macomb County's back yard.
Water drains to the lake from all the land surrounding it, picking up pollutants along the way.
Sewage from a home incorrectly tapped to a storm drain in Warren ends up in the lake. A faulty septic tank in Harrison Township will send its waste along the water path of least resistance - and all paths lead to Lake St. Clair. The problems increase with population. Many combined sewer systems have been separated and no longer spill raw sewage into the river. However, volume from those that still do overflow is much greater because of the expansion of these systems to serve more customers.