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The same changes that led to the creation of the sewage treatment plant changed the face of another Ann Arbor waterway. Allen's Creek, on the banks of which John Allen had founded the town, was banished from ground level in 1926. It had essentially become a large open sewer with household waste from the growing population and industrial waste from the tanneries and factories crowded along its banks. The creek flooded frequently due to the changes in land use which replaced absorbant vegetation with streets and buildings, leaving those of lower economic status, who tended to live along its banks, with flooded and unhealthy basements and yards.
Allen's Creek was piped and submerged under the ground in 1926 to help improve health conditions and stop flooding in its immediate area.
Unfortunately, pollution in the waterways of Ann Arbor is not simply a historical problem. The Huron River Watershed Council studies pollution in the Huron River watershed today.
Look at this diagram, which shows how modern storm sewers still lead directly from street drains into the river. Pollution from fertilizers, lawn chemicals, and car oil can enter these street drains if water washes them into the storm sewers. Can you think of some ways in which citizens of Ann Arbor can help fight pollution coming from storm sewers?