Improved Water Monitoring System To Show Real-Time Conditions

LANSING (WWJ) - A water quality monitoring system between lakes Huron and Erie is being revived with a $375,000 boost from the state.

The system was first installed in the St. Clair River in 2006 as an alert to spills, but it went by the wayside due to lack of local government funding.

The monitoring system will be upgraded with new equipment to create a real-time data stream for the drinking water network, alerting plant operators of accidental spills, emergency diversions and harmful algal blooms.

"A revitalized drinking water network will protect people who rely on Great Lakes water resources, and this funding is essential to restoring the system," Jon Allan, director of Michigan's Office of the Great Lakes, said in a statement.

The Huron-to-Erie Corridor serves as a drinking water source for 3 million people in Southeast Michigan and also supplies Ontario, Canada.