Kalamazoo River

The Kalamazoo River stretches 166 miles in southwest Michigan. The river goes through Kalamazoo, Marshall, Battle Creek, Otsego, Saugatuck and Galesburg, as well as many other cities before reaching its final destination of Lake Michigan. The Kalamazoo River has been used for over 11,000 years and was once a large method of transportation before trains were common. As cities popped up along the river banks, paper companies began to use the river for water intake and water discharge. Until the 1960's the river was mostly avoided by people due to the high contamination of PCB in the river. In the 70's, the federal Clean Water Act sparked a large effort to clean up the water of the Kalamazoo River. Though the water quality has improved greatly since then, it is still advised that the number of fish eaten out of the river be limited, especially bottom feeders who have a high level of mercury. Dams have also been put up in the river, creating pristine lakes for marinas and boat docks. Area residents are hopeful that the dams will one day be removed to restore the lakes to their natural sandy shorelines.