A cleaner Detroit River, Great Lakes

The Detroit River, once an environmental disaster, has been restored to health, reports the Free Press:

Oil spills have been reduced, phosphorus levels have declined by 90%, fish and wildlife are no longer heavily contaminated with now-banned DDT and PCBs. There has been huge progress in removing contaminated sediment from the river. Sewage treatment has improved. Mercury contamination is down 70%.

Also in the news, from the Ann Arbor Business Review, a new report suggests that cleaning up the Great Lakes could have great returns for the region (besides being the right thing to do):

Restoring the Great Lakes - controlling invasive species, addressing sewage contamination, cleaning up toxic waste and restoring shoreline - would create $50 billion in economic benefit from a $26 billion cleanup investment.