DirtyWaterWatch Public waters. Public record.

Michigan / Waters /

Lake Michigan

Lake in Michigan, near Acme, Bingham, Bliss, Charlevoix, Cross Village, Elk Rapids, Escanaba, Fairport, Fayette, Ford River, Garden and Gladstone

Current status

No current status shown

No current status is assigned to this water outline. Check the water page for reports and any estimated downstream stretches. Why this status, and its source

Map sources: water outlines and launches from OpenBoatLaunch and OpenStreetMap contributors (Open Database License); wastewater outlets from EPA and state records; downstream estimates by DirtyWaterWatch using U.S. Geological Survey maps and flow data. Base map: OpenFreeMap and OpenMapTiles.

Square boat markers mark boat launches listed by OpenBoatLaunch. Dashed river stretches are estimates.

Check City of Charlevoix's notices · Bookmark this water page and check it before each trip · Report a missing notice or error

About this status

No current status shown: no report we track sets a status on this water now; how statuses work. No status does not mean the water is safe. Follow posted signs and local health advice.

Sources checked: a public source (last successful check 2026-11-05 01:05 UTC); a public source (last successful check 2026-11-05 01:05 UTC); a public source (last successful check 2026-11-05 01:06 UTC); EGLE MiEnviro CSO/SSO List (last successful check 2026-11-05 01:08 UTC). Status by DirtyWaterWatch, updated 2026-11-05 01:25 UTC. · Updated

Estimated downstream stretches on Lake Michigan

none with a current status

No downstream stretch has a current status here as of Nov 4, 2026, 8:25 PM EST. Check the reports below.

Estimated routes below wastewater outlets

5 routes below outlets
  • No current status shown Permit MI0025381, outlet 001 · 40 kilometres estimated · Estimate stops here
  • No current status shown Permit MI0057638, outlet 001 · 40 kilometres estimated · Estimate stops here
  • No current status shown Permit MI0057676, outlet 001 · 40 kilometres estimated · Estimate stops here
  • No current status shown Permit MI0057737, outlet 001 · 40 kilometres estimated · Estimate stops here
  • No current status shown Permit MIG081159, outlet 001 · 20.227 kilometres estimated · Estimate stops here

Source: DirtyWaterWatch estimates using U.S. Geological Survey river maps and flow measurements. The estimate stops at tidal water, the first lake or the distance limit.

The last 90 days

Last 90 days, hour by hour. Red: discharge or advisory reported. Amber: caution. Hatched amber: end not confirmed. Plum: algal bloom advisory. Red or amber with a light line inside: beach advisory or caution. Dotted: monthly report (days with discharge, dates not given). Grey: no current status on the water outline. Purple hatching: source update overdue.

No discharge, advisory or caution periods are shown for this water in this time span. Check downstream stretches and source coverage.

Source: DirtyWaterWatch calculations using the reports named above and the published status rules. Updated 2026-11-05 01:25 UTC.

Reported discharges over time

  • Discharges affecting Lake Michigan in Michigan, last 12 months22 affecting this lake: 2 reported on Lake Michigan; none arriving from upstreamDecember 2025 to November 2026Verified reports where available, else notices; revisions and duplicates counted once. Arriving discharges are estimated from modeled downstream reaches.
  • Days with a discharge affecting Lake Michigan in Michigan, last 12 months7Reported on Lake Michigan in Michigan: 7 · Arriving from outfalls upstream, estimated: 0 (counted apart; together they need not equal the total)December 2025 to November 2026A day counts once however many discharges were under way on it.
  • Hours with a discharge or advisory status on Lake Michigan in Michigan, last 12 months106Reported on Lake Michigan in Michigan: 106 · Arriving from outfalls upstream, estimated: 0December 2025 to November 2026Red hours by the map's rules: each discharge to its reported end plus the state's post-discharge period; overlapping hours count once.
  • 2026 season with a discharge or advisory status on Lake Michigan in Michigan0.4%May to October 2026Share of May 1 to October 31 hours with red status by the map's rules, of the hours a source covered.
  • Records behind the last-90-days strip for Lake Michigan in Michigan0last 90 daysEvery distinct record the strip lists for its red, yellow and unresolved hours, notices and unresolved reports included; counted as the strip counts them.

Combined sewer overflow (CSO): sewage mixed with rainwater spills from a shared sewer system. Sanitary sewer overflow (SSO): sewage spills from a sewer meant to carry sewage separately from rainwater. Treatment bypass: wastewater skips one or more treatment steps. Blended discharge: wastewater that skipped some treatment is mixed with treated wastewater. Outfall: a pipe or outlet where wastewater enters a water body.

Reported discharges per month

4 reported discharges, January 2022 to November 2026.

  • Combined sewer overflow
  • Sanitary sewer overflow
  • Treatment bypass, blended or other

Sources: il-mwrd-lake-michigan-reversals; mi-egle-mienviro-cso-sso-list. Records cover January 1, 2022 to November 4, 2026.

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Hours with a discharge or advisory status per month

Hours when this water had a discharge or advisory status under DirtyWaterWatch rules.

  • Discharge or advisory reported

Sources: il-mwrd-lake-michigan-reversals; mi-egle-mienviro-cso-sso-list. Records cover March 4, 1985 to November 4, 2026.

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Days with a reported discharge per month

A day counts when any counted discharge was under way on it, from its start to its reported end in Eastern Time; a report with no end counts its start day.

Sources: il-mwrd-lake-michigan-reversals; mi-egle-mienviro-cso-sso-list. Records cover January 1, 2022 to November 4, 2026.

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Reported discharges per year, 2000 to 2026

86 reported discharges, 2000 to 2026.

  • Combined sewer overflow
  • Sanitary sewer overflow
  • Treatment bypass, blended or other

Sources: il-mwrd-lake-michigan-reversals; mi-egle-mienviro-cso-sso-list. Records cover March 4, 1985 to November 4, 2026.

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Reported volume per year

Gallons (axis: K thousand, M million), summed from the 80 reports that gave a volume as a number (6 did not).

6 of 86 discharge reports gave no volume as a number; only numbers are summed. 3 reports give more than 5 billion gallons for a single discharge, which looks like an entry error; they are not summed.

Sources: il-mwrd-lake-michigan-reversals; mi-egle-mienviro-cso-sso-list. Records cover March 4, 1985 to November 4, 2026.

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Hours with a discharge or advisory status per year

Hours with a discharge or advisory status each year under DirtyWaterWatch rules; 2026 to date.

  • Discharge or advisory reported

Sources: il-mwrd-lake-michigan-reversals; mi-egle-mienviro-cso-sso-list. Records cover March 4, 1985 to November 4, 2026.

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Share of the May to October season with a discharge or advisory status

Share of the hours from May 1 to October 31 with a discharge or advisory status under DirtyWaterWatch rules.

  • Discharge or advisory reported

Sources: il-mwrd-lake-michigan-reversals; mi-egle-mienviro-cso-sso-list. Records cover March 4, 1985 to November 4, 2026.

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Reported discharges by calendar month, all years

Every counted discharge report, by the calendar month it began.

Months are summed over every year a tracked source covers; the table gives the number of years behind each month.

Sources: il-mwrd-lake-michigan-reversals; mi-egle-mienviro-cso-sso-list. Records cover March 4, 1985 to November 4, 2026.

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Reported discharges by wastewater outlet

Wastewater outlets with the most tracked discharge records: 10 of 33, all years. Counts depend on reporting coverage and do not measure legal compliance or harm.

Sources: il-mwrd-lake-michigan-reversals; mi-egle-mienviro-cso-sso-list. Records cover March 4, 1985 to November 4, 2026.

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How these charts are counted

We count each discharge once. Where a source publishes notices and confirmed reports, we use confirmed reports for an operator's month when available; otherwise we use notices. We combine revisions and exclude duplicate state reports copied by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Monthly and yearly totals appear separately. Status hours follow this site's rules. Shaded gaps mean missing coverage, not zero discharges.

  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sewer overflow records: records from May 3, 2022 to the latest update (limited records)
  • il-mwrd-lake-michigan-reversals: records from March 4, 1985 to July 3, 2023
  • mi-egle-mienviro-cso-sso-list: records from January 1, 2001 to the latest update

Reports linked to Lake Michigan

Reports linked to Lake Michigan, newest first
WhenReportStatus
to Jun 28, 1:30 AMCity of Petoskey · Force main air reliefe vale pit - Paved drive, grassy natural area · SSO · 120,000 gallons report · notice · mapended
to Apr 17, 4:00 AMCity of Escanaba · 25th Ave Storm Sewer Outlet - Strom water · SSO · 6.59 million gallons report · notice · mapended
to 5:15 PMGRSD Sewer Authority · Ls 14 · SSO · 20 gallons report · notice · mapended
to 8:00 AMGRSD Sewer Authority · Ls 14 · SSO · 1,000 gallons report · notice · mapended
to 6:00 AMGRSD Sewer Authority · Ls 9 · SSO · 2,500 gallons report · notice · mapended
to 2:29 AMCity of St. Joseph · 005 CSO Outfall 005 · CSO · 500 gallons report · notice · mapended
to May 6 ’21, 10:30 AMCity of Escanaba · 001 Discharges to Lake Michigan Lat 45.71751, Long -87.04742 · Bypass · 1.8 million gallons report · notice · mapended
to Jun 12 ’20, 8:45 AMCity of Escanaba · 001 Discharges in to Lake Michigan Lat 45.71751, Long -87.04742 · Bypass · 1.5 million gallons report · notice · mapended
to 8:00 PMCity of Escanaba · 23rd Avenue Lift station wet well to Stormwater Drain - Storm Sewer discharging to Llake Michigan at Long 45.71661, Long -87.07483 · SSO · 14,400 gallons report · notice · mapended
to Apr 10 ’20, 1:00 PMCity of Escanaba · 001 DIscharges Lake Michigan Lat 45.71751, Long -87.04742 · Bypass · 18.87 million gallons report · notice · mapended
to 7:04 PMCity of Traverse City · Private Residence Address - Sanitary Sewer Manholes · SSO · 11,000 gallons report · notice · mapended
to 2:56 PMGRSD Sewer Authority · manhole between [house number removed] mayhew street · SSO · 200 gallons report · notice · mapended
to Jan 5 ’20, 4:00 PMCity of Escanaba · 001 Discharges to Lake Michigan, Lat 45.71757, Long -87.04742 · Bypass · 2.01 million gallons report · notice · mapended
to 11:00 AMColumbia Township · Private Residence Address - sewer main line damaged and leaked · SSO · 4,000 gallons report · notice · mapended
to 6:00 PMGRSD Sewer Authority · Lift station #6 force main · SSO · 24,000 gallons report · notice · mapended
to 6:00 PMGRSD Sewer Authority · force main break between Oak lane and Wood lane on Red Arrow Hwy · SSO · 5,400 gallons report · notice · mapended
to Jun 2 ’19, 11:59 PMCity of Escanaba · 001 Discharges to Lake Michigan, Lat 45.71757, Long -87.04742 · Bypass · 10.52 million gallons report · notice · mapended
to Apr 22 ’19, 10:00 PMCity of Escanaba · 001 Lake Michigan Lat 45.71757, Lat -87.04742 · Bypass · 400,000 gallons report · notice · mapended
to Jun 23 ’18, 8:00 AMLake Charter Township · Private Residence Address - Clean-out in road ditch/ROW · SSO · 27,940 gallons report · notice · mapended
to 7:01 PMChikaming Township · Manholes in Berrien Street between Oakwood and Red Arrow Hwy - Manholes in Berrien Street · SSO · 2,825 gallons report · notice · mapended
to 7:02 PMLake Charter Township · Private Residence Address - Clean-out in road ditch/ROW · SSO · 11,320 gallons report · notice · mapended
to Mar 2 ’18, 8:30 AMChikaming Township · Manholes in Berrien Street between Oakwood and Red Arrow Hwy - Manholes in Berrien Street · SSO · 16,200 gallons report · notice · mapended
to Mar 2 ’18, 8:30 AMLake Charter Township · Private Residence Address - Clean-out in road ditch/ROW · SSO · 34,200 gallons report · notice · mapended
to Feb 22 ’18, 10:00 AMNew Buffalo · MH on West Mechanic st near North Willard · SSO · 26,400 gallons report · notice · mapended
to Feb 22 ’18, 8:00 AMChikaming Township · Manholes in Berrien Street between Oakwood and Red Arrow Hwy - Manholes in Berrien Street · SSO · 50,400 gallons report · notice · mapended

Sources: EGLE MiEnviro CSO/SSO List, retrieved 2026-11-04 15:09 UTC. A report's record id and times show when you hover or focus its "report" link.

Download these reports as CSV

Showing the latest 25 records of 52 records.See them all with filters.

All reports in Michigan by year: 2026 (2 here) · 2021 (5 here) · 2020 (5 here) · 2019 (6 here) · 2018 (8 here) · 2017 (5 here) · 2015 (3 here) · 2014 (3 here) · 2013 (3 here) · 2012 (1 here) · 2011 (2 here) · 2010 (1 here) · 2006 (1 here) · 2005 (1 here) · 2004 (3 here) · 2003 (1 here) · 2001 (2 here)

Wastewater outlets on this water

No wastewater outlet in our records is linked to this water.

Sewer operators listed for this water: City of Charlevoix, City of Escanaba, City of Gladstone, Village of Suttons Bay, City of Petoskey, City of St. Joseph (ST JOSEPH CSO), GRSD Sewer Authority, Columbia Township, City of Menominee.

Boat launches

Source: OpenBoatLaunch launch records (public agency data and OpenStreetMap, Open Database License). · Lake Michigan on OpenBoatLaunch

Nearby waters

Sources covering this water

52 records linked to this water. Updated .