By Mark Scott
Buffalo, NY – Untreated sewage flowing into the Great Lakes has reached crisis proportions, according to a new report.
A coalition of environmental groups says the problem is forcing many beaches along Lake Erie to close for people wishing to swim.
Jeff Skelding is campaign director for the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. He says 41 billion gallons of untreated sewage were dumped into the Great Lakes last year.
"The amount of water that flows over Niagara Falls in a 15 hour period, that's how much raw sewage we continue to dump into this resource that we all love, that we know is so important to the culture of this region," said Skelding.
The report says the cost of solving the problem across the region tops 23 billion dollars. The Buffalo Sewer Authority alone would need to spend 500 million dollars to eliminate its release of untreated sewage. Skelding is calling on Congress to appropriate the necessary funding to assist local and state governments.