community weblog - [ Silt chokes river, economy ]

From canoes carrying fur traders to Great Lakes steamers bringing in stone, oil and fertilizer, Saginaw Valley commerce was built on the back of the Saginaw River.

But rising levels of river sediment are threatening to do away with a way of doing business that had its beginning hundreds of years ago and continues to strengthen the region's economy.

Still, a Saginaw River dredging proposal remains an issue.

"There is a clear sense of urgency for this project," said JoAnn Crary, president of Saginaw Future Inc., Saginaw County's economic development organization. "Dock owners are coping with the increasingly shallow navigation channel by limiting their shipments to smaller freighters and barges, utilizing only a portion of their capacity."

That is costing the Saginaw Valley businesses -- and those within a 250-mile radius of the river -- money. Sooner or later, residents also will have to dig deeper into their pockets to get a new concrete driveway, fertilize their crops or put sugar in their coffee.    more...