Yo - Windsor What's going on here?

**Lowell** · March-18-10, 10:03 PM

And when are you going to fix the lights in the Caesar's sign.

**eriedearie** · March-18-10, 10:47 PM

Lowell, I'll inquire about the lights on my next trip into the establishment.

While on said trip I'll also try and learn about the waterfront activity.

EastSider · March-19-10, 07:40 AM

Ask them what's with all the fires this past week, too.

**DetroitPlanner** · March-19-10, 07:41 AM

Its a sewer separation project that will create a large underground retention basin which will assist in keeping the poop out of the river.

**davewindsor** · March-19-10, 08:18 AM

Meanwhile, neither Detroit nor the State of Michigan nor Obama dollars for that matter will be spending a dime towards retrofitting their very similar sewage system with a retention basin, which means poop will continue to flow into the Detroit river from the Detroit side when there is heavy rain.

A little something to think about next time you go swimming from Belle Isle, rowing or jet skiing.

Caesar's is managed by their arrogant US conglomerate that's completely oblivous to the $10 Greektown buffet and keeping their rates at $28 instead of competing and refuses to acknowledge any feedback about any problems with the casino that enter their comment card mailbox. I've pointed out a lot of problems in the comment box that were never addressed. As far as Caesar's is concerned, those lights still work and any other competitive issues do not exist.

**DetroitPlanner** · March-19-10, 08:49 AM

Dave, with much respect you should really look at some of the improvements that have gone in on this side of the border including the Rouge River Valley. Here is a progress report submitted by Federal Judge Fiekens. Planning for this has begun a long time ago, and much has been done that should be celebrated. You can now safely fish and canoe in portions of this river where you could not before. The Rouge is the largest river contributing to the Detroit River. Granted, work still needs to be done with St. Clair, but until Sarnia is cleaned up, it will just get polluted again.

Late Add: The Bates Street Outfall also adressed many of the CSO [[Combined Sewer Overflow) issues, and is located directly across from the Windsor project. .

**davewindsor** · March-19-10, 09:28 AM

Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

Dave, with much respect you should really look at some of the improvements that have gone in on this side of the border including the Rouge River Valley. Here is a progress report submitted by Federal Judge Fiekens. Planning for this has begun a long time ago, and much has been done that should be celebrated. You can now safely fish and canoe in portions of this river where you could not before. The Rouge is the largest river contributing to the Detroit River. Granted, work still needs to be done with St. Clair, but until Sarnia is cleaned up, it will just get polluted again.

Oh boy, Sarnia has a population of 72,000 with a county population of 120,000 and you're going to compare it to a huge industrial area like Wayne County with over 2million people, not to mention the millions more that lived in and were employed by industries in Wayne County in the past. Sarnia is just a drop in the bucket. And, people still fish for muskie and canoe in the St. Claire River near Sarnia

**eno** · March-19-10, 10:10 AM

Originally Posted by davewindsor

Oh boy, Sarnia has a population of 72,000 with a county population of 120,000 and you're going to compare it to a huge industrial area like Wayne County with over 2million people, not to mention the millions more that lived in and were employed by industries in Wayne County in the past. Sarnia is just a drop in the bucket. And, people still fish for muskie and canoe in the St. Claire River near Sarnia

Still, there are things worse than sewage in our drinking water. In August 2003, a power blackout rolled across most of eastern North America. One of the worst hit areas was the petrochemical capital of Canada: Sarnia, Ontario. Located on the banks of the St. Clair River, Sarnia is home to more than twenty major petrochemical manufacturers and petroleum refineries. When the blackout hit, industrial systems failed. One company, Royal Polymers, discharged about 650 pounds of vinyl chloride into the St. Clair River.

The vinyl chloride spill went unreported for nearly two weeks, at which time the Community Health Services Department issued a boil-water advisory recommending that "water can be rendered safe" by adding household bleach to their water. "A faint chlorine smell should be noticeable after proper disinfection." This is an effective strategy for killing pathogens, but utterly useless for toxic industrial chemicals. Residents of Stag Island, downstream from Sarnia, suffered nausea, disorientation, and lethargy. They now must come to grips with the fact that vinyl chloride is a potent carcinogen. No one, it seems, had planned what to do in the event of a blackout. Where were the safety measures to protect against a spill, why did the spill go unreported for so long, and why was the response so inappropriate?

http://www.switchstudio.com/waterkee...05/canada.html

Reporting of discharges like this in Canada was voluntary at that time. I hope changes have been made. The company that made the discharges into the St. Clair River was found responsible for making 4 illegal discharges and a fine of $12.5M was proposed. I wouldn't dismiss the effects of pollution made by a relatively small population like Sarnia's considering the large footprint made by it's chemical industry and potential to dump toxins into it's waterways.

EastSider · March-19-10, 10:11 AM

The fires! What about the fires?!

**Lowell** · March-19-10, 10:25 AM

Look at it this way Dave, you don't have to pay bribes for sludge hauling. LOL. That's great news that Windsor is addressing that issue and I agree with you that the north side needs to aggressively address the storm surge issue. However Belle Isle swimming is not an issue as most of the overflow issues occur well down river. It can be affected if the Clinton River basin overflows, but even that is several miles away and is being addressed by retention basins. The rapid current by Belle Isle also aids its water quality.

There is plenty of blame to go around for the poisoning of our waters. The whole city of Detroit side paved over its Rouge basin and the preponderance of blame for pollution falls on the northside. Sarnia chemical spills over 15 years ago made me decide to start paying for and drinking spring water. This is not a Canada US issue. It is an international metropolitan issue where we need to think and act as one.

**yupislyr** · March-19-10, 11:53 AM

Originally Posted by EastSider

The fires! What about the fires?!

Maybe you mean the controlled burns going on this week in the Walpole Island area. Other than that, no idea.

EastSider · March-19-10, 11:57 AM

Originally Posted by yupislyr

Maybe you mean the controlled burns going on this week in the Walpole Island area. Other than that, no idea.

If that's what they are, great, thank you for the answer. All I know is that pretty big plumes of smoke have been rising from the east a few days this past week. I can see them clearly from my office in Mt Clemens.

**eriedearie** · March-19-10, 12:09 PM

Originally Posted by yupislyr

Maybe you mean the controlled burns going on this week in the Walpole Island area. Other than that, no idea.

Yes that is what you're seeing. Lots of farmers are doing the controlled burns all throughout Essex County.

**DetroitPlanner** · March-19-10, 12:19 PM

Originally Posted by eriedearie

Yes that is what you're seeing. Lots of farmers are doing the controlled burns all throughout Essex County.

Maybe this is what is making the odd spikes in PM 0.25m?

**eriedearie** · March-19-10, 12:35 PM

Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

Maybe this is what is making the odd spikes in PM 0.25m?

Not sure what you mean by that DetroitPlanner? Please explain

**DetroitPlanner** · March-19-10, 12:52 PM

Originally Posted by eriedearie

Not sure what you mean by that DetroitPlanner? Please explain

Whoops sorry slipped into planner talk. The area of Detroit closest to Essex County's downriver has several air quality problems, one of which is known as Particulate Matter, which is measured to be as small as 0.25 microns. There are certain times of the year where exceedances happen and a contributor to PM 0.25 is the burning of carbon materials. Granted, this goes both ways because to be fair this is also the area where the steel mills are on the US side.

Better coordination could potentially improve the air that both sides breathe.

**eriedearie** · March-19-10, 01:05 PM

Okay, now I understand. I would agree that is what is causing the spikes. We went for a ride all around the area yesterday and spotted several farm lands going through the yearly burn. I must confess, I do love seeing it done because it aids in purifying the soil, plus that means warmer weather is on its sweet way - but hate seeing it done because it pollutes the air. I don't like breathing all that in. Don't know how those who control the burns can stand it.

Thanks for the explanation - I'm always learning something from these threads!

**REL** · March-19-10, 02:22 PM

Originally Posted by davewindsor

Caesar's is managed by their arrogant US conglomerate that's completely oblivous to the $10 Greektown buffet and keeping their rates at $28 instead of competing and refuses to acknowledge any feedback about any problems with the casino that enter their comment card mailbox. I've pointed out a lot of problems in the comment box that were never addressed. As far as Caesar's is concerned, those lights still work and any other competitive issues do not exist.

Dave, I'm sure they'd be very upset to learn they've lost your business.

**davewindsor** · March-19-10, 03:00 PM

Originally Posted by REL

Dave, I'm sure they'd be very upset to learn they've lost your business.

It's not sarcasm when it's true. It's obvious by their actions that they could care less. I already said that.

**maxx** · March-20-10, 07:20 AM

Originally Posted by eriedearie

Okay, now I understand. I would agree that is what is causing the spikes. We went for a ride all around the area yesterday and spotted several farm lands going through the yearly burn. I must confess, I do love seeing it done because it aids in purifying the soil,

How so? Doesn't the fire destroy all the good bacteria and nematodes?

**eriedearie** · March-20-10, 08:32 AM

Originally Posted by maxx

How so? Doesn't the fire destroy all the good bacteria and nematodes?

From what I understand about the process, the burning takes any weed build up and gets rid of them by destroying their roots. Also, the land gets rejuvenated from the scorching of the soil, and it burns off any grubs, while destroying their larva that tend to set up shop in there. Then when plowing time commences, it gets mixed up and makes for a rich, well ventilated growing medium. That is the way it was explained to me by the farmer who plants the fields near our home.

**davewindsor** · March-20-10, 11:29 AM

Originally Posted by maxx

How so? Doesn't the fire destroy all the good bacteria and nematodes?

The soil gets purified from the fire. Then they add the cow manure and mix it up before planting in the new crops to give the soil what it needs. Ever wonder why farms have such a strong stench of cow manure while driving through rural roads at certain times of the year?

**Whitehouse** · March-20-10, 01:40 PM

Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

Its a sewer separation project that will create a large underground retention basin which will assist in keeping the poop out of the river.

It's mandatory in the Netherlands. No untreated water is allowed in the streams anymore. So indeed we also have those devices to let the sewers cope with flash floods due to heavy rain. And already you can see the effect of those implementations.

**Gistok** · March-20-10, 02:01 PM

Due to the beautiful weather this week, I drove the scenic route down Lakeshore Dr. in the Grosse Pointes several days this week. I could see the smoke coming from the Walpole Island area. But I was puzzled by fires farther southeast... thanks for answering that mystery Eriedearie...

The good news [[for metro Detroit) is that the smoke was all billowing eastward... over Ontario!

**windsor_shane** · March-20-10, 08:02 PM

there were 2 house fires in abandoned homes this weekend - one in Windsor and one in
Amherstburg - the one in Windsor is being said to be arson.

Windsorites need to be careful - too much sprawl - an empty city... Windsor of all cities should know the consequences of this because of our proximity to Detroit - its a fragile balance.. Windsor, lets learn from our big brother - or we will be in the same boat!