Lower Rouge River Old Channel-A Great Lakes Legacy Project
Historical industrial and urban activity along the Lower Rouge River Old Channel (LRROC) since the 1880s contaminated the LRROC river sediments with metals, petroleum hydrocarbons, and tars. In 1985 the International Joint Commission designated the LRROC as a Great Lakes Area of Concern.
In 2010 operating under the Great Lakes Legacy Act (GLLA), a cooperative agreement between the United States Environmental Protection Agency Great Lakes National Program Office and responsible parties was signed. The cooperative agreement includes completion of a Remedial Investigation and a Feasibility Study leading to remediation and habitat restoration that will meet the Remedial Action Objectives (RAOs) for the LRROC. The objective of the Purdue Senior Design Team project is to determine feasible remediation and habitat restoration alternatives with a recommendation to the project sponsor, Ramboll Environ, on how to meet the site RAOs.
Senior Design Team update:
One group of Environmental and Ecological Engineering students is working on a project involving sturgeon habitat remediation in the Detroit area. This area has experienced habitat degradation due to decades of industrial activity, making it a Great Lakes Area of Concern. The focus of this project is on restoring the stream’s ecosystem functionality through spawning ground restoration and streambank stabilization. The group hopes to implement in-stream structures with the intended purpose of providing a suitable ecosystem for local sturgeon populations to utilize. The team is very excited about the opportunities this project presents, both with respect to relevant career interests and the professional development it has provided.