GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Three decades and $400 million later, the city of Grand Rapids publicly celebrated a much cleaner Grand River Tuesday.
City leaders, past and present, honored the men and women who were part of one of what they called the "greatest environmental success stories" in the history of Grand Rapids - the removal of sewage from the Grand River.
The combined sewage overflow separation project separated sewage from storm water, which used to flow into the Grand River. In 1969, nearly 10 billion gallons of sewage overflow flowed through the Grand River. Today, there are no more overflows into the river.
The city is now focusing on future projects, like improvements to the flood wall, removing the dams and restoring the rapids to the river.
"We've gone from fair water quality to good water quality over the last 30 years," said Mike Lunn, Environment Services Manager for Grand Rapids.
The quality of the water in the river is actually so improved that city leaders are considering removing the ordinance that prohibits swimming in the Grand River.
