Representatives of federal, state, and local government will be on hand Wednesday at Lake Michigan College for a summit on Ox Creek.
Southwest Michigan Planning Commission Deputy Director Marcy Hamilton tells us efforts to revitalize the creek stretching from US-31 to the Paw Paw River have been going on for a few years now with more than $7 million secured since 2022.
The creek has been affected by runoff from farms and retail areas in Benton Township. So, why is it important to clean it up?
“It’s less than a mile from Lake Michigan, and so the health of the creek definitely impacts the health of Lake Michigan,” Hamilton said. “So, we want to ensure that the creek as it comes through Benton Harbor is cleaned up and safe.”
Hamilton says representatives of the EPA, the city of Benton Harbor, and Benton Township will be on hand for the summit. Among the speakers will be Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy Director Phil Roos.
“We’re going to kind of go over existing conditions of the creek and the corridor and talk about some of the funding that we have already secured, and then we’re kind of going over a draft strategic plan to kind of lay out our course of action that we’re hoping to take in the future.”
Hamilton says the ultimate goal is to not only to protect Lake Michigan water quality with a cleaner creek, but to create opportunities for recreation. She notes that thanks to a federal grant, the city of Benton Harbor now has an Ox Creek coordinator on staff, and that could accelerate efforts to secure more grants.
Wednesday’s summit is RSVP only, so it’s no longer open to the public. However, Hamilton says more than 70 people signed up.
