Land Usage
Most of the watershed away from the river in Ontario and Michigan is used for agriculture. A few forest and wetland remnants are present, although their area has declined significantly since European settlement.
Much of the shoreline on both sides of the St. Clair River is urbanized and heavily industrialized. Intensive development has occurred in and near the adjacent cities of Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario, at the northern end of the river. The heaviest concentration of industry (including a large petrochemical complex) lies along the Ontario shore south of Sarnia.
Several communities along the St. Clair rely on the river as their primary source of drinking water. About one-third to one-half of the residents of Michigan receive their water from the St. Clair/Detroit River waterway. Industries – including petroleum refineries, chemical manufacturers, paper mills, salt producers and electric power plants – need high quality water for their operations, although there have been some cases in recent years where these industries have contaminated river waters after discharging pollutants.
Read more about this topic: St. Clair River
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