(WXYZ) — For the third time this year, metro Detroit residents have been warned about a possible contamination in the Huron River.
Just this past Tuesday the city of Ann Arbor announced that its wastewater treatment facility spilled over 1 million gallons of partially treated wastewater into the Huron River.
This spill comes after two other incidents this year. A chemical spill from Wixom in August and the discovery of an oil sheen found near Flat Rock in February.
According to the waste facility, staff was working on a gate at the Ann Arbor treatment facility when they accidentally caused a different flow path.
Officials say the water had already undergone the majority of its sterilization process except for ultraviolet disinfection, meaning there could be more fecal matter than normal in the water.
Alan Heavner owns a canoe rental business that uses the Huron River and says the two previous spills are hurting his revenue. He fears it will only get worse with the latest pollution.
"It affected us adversely and ever since then we've been way down. Not because the river is bad but because people are afraid of pollution," he said.
