A source of contamination that could affect the water quality of Huron Creek is runoff from inadequate septic systems in the watershed. While most homes in Houghton are on a public sewer system, many homes in Portage Township have private septic systems; including residents living on Green Acres Road and in Dakota Heights. Residents in the watershed who are on sewer have their effluent treated at a waste water treatment facility, while those on septic have private septic fields, potentially exposing the creek to septic runoff. Some of these septic fields may be outdated, inadequate, not maintained properly, or shared by multiple residents, thus allowing the field to become overwhelmed during periods of increased storm water runoff. While water quality sampling has not shown septic runoff to be a major water quality concern, there is the potential for water quality degradation, especially during times of increased run-off.
The areas
in which residences and businesses depend on septic systems are
shown in the shaded regions of this figure. |
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