EGLE officials say weight from aggregate material caused seawall along Detroit River to collapse

Water quality tests are underway

DETROIT – Michigan environmental officials responded to the boat slip belonging to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers after its northern wall collapsed on Friday.

UPDATE: Samples taken from Detroit River after seawall collapse meet surface water quality criteria, EGLE says

It was adjacent to the Revere Dock, that collapsed into the river in 2019. Now multiple agencies are testing water.

“There was an aggregate stored, staged in certain areas and it partially collapsed into a doc slip owned by U.S. Corps Army of Engineers,” EGLE spokesperson Jill Greenberg said. “It’s looking like the aggregate weight pushed the soil that is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is partially collapsed the seawall there.”

Greenberg said there was a petroleum machine within the boat slip. Because of that, floating barriers used to contain contaminants have been put in place to find anything potentially harmful in the water.

“What we’re looking for are things from organic compounds and metals, PCBs. Once we have those test results back, that will really inform next steps coming up,” Greenberg said.

Samples should come back this week and will be provided to EGLE, EPA and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Read: New Michigan legislation would reinforce accountability of private dock owners


About the Author

Victor Williams joined Local 4 News in October of 2019 after working for WOIO in Cleveland, OH, WLOX News in Biloxi, MS, and WBBJ in Jackson, TN. Victor developed a love for journalism after realizing he was a great speaker and writer at an early age.

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