Kalamazoo Co. PFAS Response: The Latest

A precautionary Boil Water Advisory that took effect Friday for 5 homes in Kalamazoo and is expected to be lifted Monday. The move was made to ensure safety after construction on new water infrastructure that is being installed for residents in Parchment and Cooper Township caused a loss of water pressure for some residents in Kalamazoo. Municipal water customers in the affected area may use bottled water for consumptive purposes or boil their tap water for 2 minutes prior to use for drinking or other ingestion.

It has been more than two weeks since residents and city officials were told the City of Parchment water and some wells in Cooper Township were contaminated with PFAS. Testing on surface water for the Kalamazoo River took place this week. The DEQ collected 36 samples of surface water on Monday, August 6 and Tuesday, August 7 from the Kalamazoo River upstream and downstream of Parchment including several samples collected in the immediate vicinity of Parchment and the former Crown Vantage Paper property. Testing results are expected to arrive starting next week. Results from the river testing and private well testing is expected to be released next week.

Since Saturday, July 28, the DEQ has worked in the communities of Parchment and Cooper Township to test private residential drinking water wells. To date, they have collected samples from 106 residential wells and 1 irrigation well. Results from those tests have yet to be made public.