A recent 2-year study found that despite clean-up efforts, Lake St. Clair is still heavily polluted. Monitoring stations found "numerous locations impacted by upstream pollutant discharges and highly contaminated storm water runoff ... excessive soil erosion and resulting transport of pollutants downstream and eventually into Lake St. Clair" according to an
article in the Macomb Daily. E. coli, chloride, and high nutrient levels in the Lake St. Clair watershed are particularly disconcerting. High sediment levels and heavy metal contamination have created toxic "hot spots" in some areas.