Contamination in the river, carried downstream

The Tittabawassee and Saginaw Rivers carry a legacy of pollution from upstream. For much of the 1900s, the Dow Chemical plant in Midland left a long-lasting pollutant called dioxin in the river, and over the years floods carried that contaminated sediment downstream — down the Tittabawassee, into the Saginaw River, and all the way to Saginaw Bay. The lower Saginaw River and the bay are a designated cleanup area, with dioxin and other industrial pollutants in the sediment.

For most people this isn’t an everyday worry, but two things are worth knowing. First, the state posts advisories about eating fish caught in the Tittabawassee River, the Saginaw River, and Saginaw Bay — some fish carry too much contamination to eat often, so it’s smart to check the state’s “Eat Safe Fish” guide before you keep a catch. There are similar advisories about eating wild game and home-raised chicken eggs from the river floodplain. Second, if you’re buying low property right along the river, where floodwaters can leave river sediment behind, it’s worth asking about the floodplain and any cleanup history. The EPA, the state environmental agency (EGLE), and the state health department all publish details, and the county health departments can help.