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Michigan / Waters /

Saint Marys River

River in Michigan, past Detour, Pickford, Raber, Sault Ste. Marie, Soo and Sugar Island

Current status

End not confirmed

A discharge was reported, and we have not found an end time in the sources we track. This status since . 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.

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

About this status

End not confirmed: no end time reported; shown as unconfirmed from day 7 to day 30 (site rule)

Source: Michigan EGLE (MiEnviro CSO/SSO List) via EGLE MiEnviro CSO/SSO List, record 554243124728…, reported Oct 16, 2026, 7:09 AM EDT, retrieved 2026-11-05 01:07 UTC · Original notice · Updated

Reports behind this status

Treatment bypass: wastewater skips one or more treatment steps.

Reports behind the status of Saint Marys River, newest first
WhenReportStatus
City of Sault Ste. Marie · Bypass · 217,000 gallons report · notice · mapto Nov 14, 9:44 PM

Sources: EGLE MiEnviro CSO/SSO List, retrieved 2026-11-05 01:07 UTC. A report's record id and times show when you hover or focus its "report" link.

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.
  • End not confirmed: to the latest update
    1 report: City of Sault Ste. Marie 1
    Show records

    The records are also in the report table on this page.

  • Caution: to
    1 report: City of Sault Ste. Marie 1
    Show records

    The records are also in the report table on this page.

  • Caution: to
    1 report: City of Sault Ste. Marie 1
    Show records

    The records are also in the report table on this page.

  • Discharge or advisory reported: to
    1 report: City of Sault Ste. Marie 1
    Show records

    The records are also in the report table on this page.

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 the Saint Marys River in Michigan, last 12 months33 affecting this stretch: 3 reported on the Saint Marys River; 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 the Saint Marys River in Michigan, last 12 months5Reported on the Saint Marys River in Michigan: 5 · 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 the Saint Marys River in Michigan, last 12 months58Reported on the Saint Marys River in Michigan: 58 · 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 the Saint Marys River in Michigan0.1%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 the Saint Marys River in Michigan2Reported on the Saint Marys River in Michigan: 2 · Arriving from outfalls upstream, estimated: 0last 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.

This record covers the Saint Marys River within Michigan; the same river upstream is a separate record.

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. 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

16 reported discharges, January 2022 to November 2026.

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

Source: mi-egle-mienviro-cso-sso-list. Records cover January 1, 2022 to November 4, 2026.

Show table

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

15 discharge reports have no end time and are not marked ongoing; under DirtyWaterWatch rules they show caution, not a discharge or advisory status, and add no hours here.

Source: mi-egle-mienviro-cso-sso-list. Records cover January 1, 2001 to November 4, 2026.

Show table

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.

Source: mi-egle-mienviro-cso-sso-list. Records cover January 1, 2022 to November 4, 2026.

Show table

Reported discharges per year, 2001 to 2026

94 reported discharges, 2001 to 2026.

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

Source: mi-egle-mienviro-cso-sso-list. Records cover January 1, 2001 to November 4, 2026.

Show table

Reported volume per year

Gallons (axis: K thousand, M million), summed from the 65 reports that gave a volume as a number (29 did not).

29 of 94 discharge reports gave no volume as a number; only numbers are summed. 1 report gives more than 5 billion gallons for a single discharge, which looks like an entry error; it is not summed.

Source: mi-egle-mienviro-cso-sso-list. Records cover January 1, 2001 to November 4, 2026.

Show table

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

15 discharge reports have no end time and are not marked ongoing; under DirtyWaterWatch rules they show caution, not a discharge or advisory status, and add no hours here.

Source: mi-egle-mienviro-cso-sso-list. Records cover January 1, 2001 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

15 discharge reports have no end time and are not marked ongoing; under DirtyWaterWatch rules they show caution, not a discharge or advisory status, and add no hours here.

Source: mi-egle-mienviro-cso-sso-list. Records cover January 1, 2001 to November 4, 2026.

Show table

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.

Source: mi-egle-mienviro-cso-sso-list. Records cover January 1, 2001 to November 4, 2026.

Show table

Reported discharges by wastewater outlet

Wastewater outlets with the most tracked discharge records: 10 of 18, all years. Counts depend on reporting coverage and do not measure legal compliance or harm.

Source: mi-egle-mienviro-cso-sso-list. Records cover January 1, 2001 to November 4, 2026.

Show table
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.

  • mi-egle-mienviro-cso-sso-list: records from January 1, 2001 to the latest update

Reports linked to Saint Marys River

Reports linked to Saint Marys River, newest first
WhenReportStatus
City of Sault Ste. Marie · Bypass · 217,000 gallons report · notice · mapto Nov 14, 9:44 PM
to 3:30 PMCity of Sault Ste. Marie · Upper St Mary's River - 011 Previous CSO Location · SSO · 4,500 gallons report · notice · mapended
to Apr 19, 7:00 PMCity of Sault Ste. Marie · 010 Power Canal · SSO · 396,480 gallons report · notice · mapended
to May 6 ’25, 8:30 AMCity of Sault Ste. Marie · 010 Power Canal · SSO · “26,550 gallons” report · notice · mapended
to May 2 ’25, 8:30 AMCity of Sault Ste. Marie · 010 Power Canal · SSO · “849,600 gallons” report · notice · mapended
to Apr 30 ’25, 8:20 AMCity of Sault Ste. Marie · 010 Power Canal · SSO · “2,668,800 gallons” report · notice · mapended
City of Sault Ste. Marie · 010 Power Canal · SSO · “3,010,200 gallons” report · notice · mapended
to Apr 23 ’25, 6:34 AMCity of Sault Ste. Marie · 010 Power Canal · SSO · “528,000 gallons” report · notice · mapended
to 12:15 PMCity of Sault Ste. Marie · 015 St Mary's River · SSO · “25,000 gallons” report · notice · mapended
to Apr 22 ’25, 12:22 PMCity of Sault Ste. Marie · 010 Power Canal · SSO · 2,880,000 million gallons report · notice · mapended
to 8:30 PMCity of Sault Ste. Marie · 010 Peck & Meridian · SSO · 60,000 gallons report · notice · mapended
to 7:00 PMCity of Sault Ste. Marie · 010 010 · SSO · 786,000 gallons report · notice · mapended
to Apr 15 ’22, 9:00 AMCity of Sault Ste. Marie · 015 St Mary's River · SSO · volume in each report mapended
to Apr 7 ’22, 11:00 PMCity of Sault Ste. Marie · 002 002 · SSO · 50,000 gallons report · notice · mapended
to Apr 7 ’22, 11:00 PMCity of Sault Ste. Marie · 010 Edison Power Canal · SSO · 250,000 gallons report · notice · mapended
to 9:00 AMCity of Sault Ste. Marie · Bingham & Water · SSO · volume in each report mapended
to Aug 27 ’20, 2:00 AMCity of Sault Ste. Marie · SSM WWTP - Sault Ste. Marie WWTP, located at [house number removed] E. Portage Ave, Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783 · Bypass · 1.18 million gallons report · notice · mapended
to Apr 30 ’20, 5:00 PMCity of Sault Ste. Marie · 010 Meridian ST./W Portage @ Peck St · SSO · 420,083 gallons report · notice · mapended
City of Sault Ste. Marie · WWTP outfall 001 - The secondary treatment portion of the Sault Ste. Marie Wastewater Treatment Plant · Bypass · 1.74 million gallons report · notice · mapended
to 11:40 PMCity of Sault Ste. Marie · 001 (wwtp outfall) - The secondary treatment portion of the Sault Ste. Marie Wastewater Treatment Plant · Bypass · 820,000 gallons report · notice · mapended
to Apr 13 ’19, 12:30 AMCity of Sault Ste. Marie · Secondary Bypass to WWTP Outfall - Secondary Treatment Section of Sault Ste. Marie Wastewater Treatment Plant. · Bypass · 2.88 million gallons in all mapended
City of Sault Ste. Marie · WWTP secondary bypass to plant outfall. - The secondary treatment portion of the Sault Ste. Marie Wastewater Treatment Plant · Bypass · 6.67 million gallons report · notice · mapended

Download these reports as CSV

Showing the latest 25 records of 94 records.See them all with filters.

All reports in Michigan by year: 2026 (3 here) · 2025 (8 here) · 2024 (1 here) · 2022 (4 here) · 2021 (2 here) · 2020 (2 here) · 2019 (5 here) · 2018 (1 here) · 2017 (9 here) · 2016 (3 here) · 2015 (3 here) · 2014 (13 here) · 2013 (15 here) · 2011 (2 here) · 2010 (8 here) · 2008 (7 here) · 2004 (1 here) · 2001 (7 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 Sault Ste. Marie.

Boat launches

No public boat launch is listed in our records for this water.

Nearby waters

Sources covering this water

94 records linked to this water. Updated .