TORONTO, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- An environmental group claims cities in Canada and the United States are dumping at least 25 billion gallons of raw sewage into the Great Lakes every year.
In a report issued Wednesday, the Sierra Legal Defense Fund said antiquated sewage treatment systems in major cities such as Detroit, Toronto and Cleveland are responsible for the worst pollution, but much smaller communities among 20 surveyed were also cited, the Globe & Mail reported from Toronto.
The report said the biggest factor leading to pollution problems is municipal use of the same network of pipes to carry both sewage and storm water runoff from streets and roofs. When rainfall overwhelms the system, municipalities release untreated sewage to prevent it from backing up into homes.
"It's appalling. I think countries as wealthy as Canada and the United States can do a hell of a lot better in terms of managing their sewage," said Dr. Elaine MacDonald, the author of the report. "The fact that we live on the shores of 20 percent of the world's supply of fresh water and we treat it this way, there is just no excuse for it."
