Sewage spill affects Clark Lake business

Part of a busy lake is going to be off-limits on the last weekends of summer.

A "no contact" order is still in effect for Southern Clark Lake in Jackson County after 4,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled yesterday.

And it could last for days depending on how long it takes the sewage to dissipate.

Clark Lake Beach and Boat Club say they are a little worried that no one will come out this weekend due to the advisory.

"Weekends are kind of like our busy time," said Elijah Newton a Supervisor and the Clark Lake Beach and Boat Club.

Newton added that they normally have "a lot of people out here and with everything going on, I don't think we're going to get nearly as many people."

When members do come to the Clark Lake Beach and Boat Club employees have been telling them about the water advisory that Columbia Township Issued.

"There is a no swim advisory right now it's in effect until we hear otherwise," said Newton.

But down the road at the Beach Bar, restaurant one waitress sees a silver lining that may help business this weekend.

"It's actually going to help us a little bit, nobody's going to be able to go out on the water so might as well come in and get the nice breeze off the lake," said Aleigha Siefert.

The water is being tested daily until it's safe to swim again, but there's no word how long that will take.

"Right now there is a lot of testing going on so we're working with local officials to make sure that the water is safe and we're going to continue to test until we make it right," said Anthony Parker the Community Affairs Manager from Consumers Energy.

The Village Manager of Brooklyn says that the sewage line break only affects the south side of the lake near Q-Lane.

"It doesn't affect the entire lake, it's pretty much this quadrant of the lake I would say," said Jae Guetschow.

The Jackson County Health Department says the lake is still fine for boating and fishing, just not swimming.