St. Clair River Projects

In 2009, the first-ever, large-scale financial commitment to address persistent & historical environmental problems in the Great Lakes. This program, known as the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, was funded at $475 million in 2010. The St. Clair River has benefited greatly from numerous projects funded under this initiative. In addition to the five fish and wildlife habitat projects currently underway, Great Lakes Restoration Initiative money has been used for other projects in the St. Clair River, including:

1Can we drink the water?

Yes! Five municipalities along the river’s shoreline draw water from the river and purify it for human consumption. The drinking water meets or surpasses all state and federal health requirements. Most water intake plants on the St. Clair River do extra monitoring to detect real-time spills so that water intake can be stopped if a foreign substance is detected. This is the St. Clair River-Lake St. Clair Monitoring Group.

2Can we eat the fish?

Yes! All Great Lakes sport fish contain some contaminants so certain species should be eaten in moderation. For recommendations on fish species that contain low levels of chemicals go to www.michigan.gov/EatSafeFish.

3Can we swim at the beaches?

Yes! Seasonal testing conducted by the St. Clair County Health Department at fifteen Great Lakes beaches indicates bacterial levels are generally at safe levels for swimming. Beaches still close occasionally especially after a heavy rainfall. For current beach closings call the 24-hour hotline at (810) 987-7253 or visit “St Clair County Beaches” on Facebook.

Port Huron North:

Near Pine Grove Park, just south of the Hollyhock, the shoreline restoration was completed in 2012. The project was led by the city of Port Huron.

See Fact Sheet

Blue Water River Walk

This major habitat restoration project along the St. Clair River in Port Huron began in 2010. Desmond Landing started out as a mile-long stretch of industrial wasteland, but when this project finished in June 2014, it became a beautiful shoreline with suitable habitat for fish and wildlife. With a restored and naturalized shoreline, the River Walk is safer and has more places for public to access the water in this primarily urban landscape. Native plants are critical to this habitat project in that they will produce the most suitable habitat for native fish and wildlife and offer protection for the shoreline. This is one of nine projects completed under the “DELISTING TARGETS FOR LOSS OF FISH & WILDLIFE HABITAT BENEFICIAL USE IMPAIRMENT OF THE ST. CLAIR RIVER AREA OF CONCERN” that gets us one step closer to removing this BUI from the St. Clair River.

Maintaining a beautiful shoreline by keeping invasive plants in check so that native plants can flourish is an ongoing project.

Blue Water River Walk Fact Sheet

St. Clair Community Foundation Blue Water River Walk website

Marysville's Living Shoreline

The City of Marysville’s Living Shoreline Restoration Project competed against 1,000 other applicants to become one of the 270 projects funded under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, and in 2012 the project was completed on the banks of the St. Clair River. This project involved habitat restoration and establishing native plant life. To accomplish this, a total of 1,885 feet of steel seawall was removed and replaced with a reinforced rocky shoreline creating a more naturalized shoreline. The design included seawall removal, an elevated improved boardwalk, emergent and submergent wetland vegetation, native plants, gravel and cobble beds in the water, and riprap bank protection. The rocky shores provide spawning and nursery habitat for fish, while wetland and upland prairie vegetation benefit birds and other wildlife. Additional plantings create a transitional area between the deep waters of the St. Clair River and the upland areas along the shore. This is one of nine projects completed under the “DELISTING TARGETS FOR LOSS OF FISH & WILDLIFE HABITAT BENEFICIAL USE IMPAIRMENT OF THE ST. CLAIR RIVER AREA OF CONCERN” that gets us one step closer to removing this BUI from the St. Clair River.

Marysville Fact Sheet 1
Marysville Fact Sheet 2

In-River Habitat Restoration:

These artificial reef habitats for fish are in the St. Clair River near Algonac. At least one habitat was finished in 2013. Two reef habitats were completed in summer 2014 near Algonac Hart’s Light at Marine City.

Reef Creation Photo Album
Restoration Project Update
MI SeaGrant: Videos of reef construction
Restoring Fish Habitat in the St. Clair River Fact Sheet

River Walk Wetlands:

GLRI money also is helping to finance wetland construction at the south end of the Blue Water River Walk which will become St. Clair County Park and Recreation’s newest county park.