More on Oil spill (Southwest Michigan): Kalamazoo & Battle Creek

from the Detroit Free Press online reporting (July 30, 2010):
Officials with Enbridge Energy Partners which owns the pipeline said they had contained the leak site along a tributary near Marshall, MI.  But oil was visible to reporters Thursday afternoon beyond a containment dike flowing down the tributary to the Kalamazoo River. . .At the other end of the slick, containment equipment was visible in the river at the entrance near Morrow Lake near Kalamazoo, an important backstop for cleanup efforts.  Residents on the lake reported smelling the oil, as well.  EPA officials said that Lake Michigan appears safe, as do the drinking water sources for the city of Kalamazoo. . .Yet although Enbridge officials say a temporary dike has stopped oil from flowing into streams, a flight over the spill area by Free Press reporters showed continued problems, including an oily sheen flowing in colorful ribbons down much of the Kalamazoo River through Battle Creek and beyond.  Many of the marshy shoreline areas were marked by oily tar deposits easily visible from 1,000 feet up.  Workers could be seen maneuvering booms and absorbent materials into the river but the oil continued to appear almost unabated in many areas.  Tanker trucks parked on bridges continued to suck out oil with hoses.  In other spots, crews in airboats worked booms in the river and marshes.  At the apparent leak source, a crew used earth-moving equipment to excavate a hole in the ground surrounded by orange fencing.  Nearby, oil pooled in large quantities.  .  . West of Battle Creek, the oil sheen became less visible Thursday as the river reached Morrow Lake.  Crews with booms could be seen on both the approach into the lake and at the west end of the lake, where booms were positioned in a pyramid formation.  .  . About 30-50 homes have been recommended for evacuation near Marshall.  County and state officials continue to monitor other areas.  There is a drinking water advisory for about 100 homes within 200 feet of the river in Calhoun county and bottled water is available for residents.  The slick is a problem on the surface, but probably not a threat for drinking water supplies, which are drawn from aquifers 70 to 100 feet down, said Alan Steinman, Director of the Annis Water Resources Institute at Grand Valley State University. . .The greater long-term ecological risk may be in the wetlands along the tributaries of the river, Steinman said.  "That's key habitat.  The bugs are living, the fish are spawning.  It's going to last a long time."

from much longer story at www. freep. com online news website. . .