The Kalamazoo: An Industrial River

One of the most polluted rivers in the state for decades was the Kalamazoo. Plagued by untreated sewage from the City of Kalamazoo and the dumping of raw paper wastes from a dozen paper mills, the river was virtually dead for 15 to 20 miles downstream of the city. In the early 1950s, the state proposed designating the Kalamazoo an "industrial river," meaning that its best use was for waste treatment.

The chief engineer for the state Water Resources Commission said the Kalamazoo actually had a lot of improving to do even to become an industrial river. "The water is too foul right now to be used for cooling or condensing. I say the river is only suitable to float a boat, and hardly that." He cautioned the public not to expect too much recovery from the stream. "Don't expect the Kalamazoo river will ever become a trout stream again. For the benefits of developing your lake, to attract industry, to be relieved of the foul odors and get a few fish in the river, you must tolerate a continued dumping of wastes." He proposed cutting the current daily dumping of 180 tons of solids into the river to 80 tons