PFAS Public Meeting This Monday

Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality is holding a public meeting regarding the PFAS issue this Monday, July 30th, at the Burma Center, 765 Upton Avenue, in Springfield.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and Calhoun County Health Departments are also involved in the informational meeting for residents living in the area shown on the map. (above).   Residents will get an update on testing for contamination along the Helmer/Dickman Road area.  Recent testing of residential drinking water wells has been conducted to determine if contamination of Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has been detected.

The Michigan DEQ recently identifyed unsafe levels of perfluorinated chemicals in two private drinking wells near the Air National Guard base in Battle Creek. The department began testing drinking water wells in April. Of the 61 wells tested, results for 29 of the collected samples are in.

Besides the two private wells found to have unsafe levels of PFAS, 11 other wells were found to have PFAS, but levels did not exceed the EPA’s standard of 70 parts-per-trillion for unsafe levels.

While most initial test results were below the EPA Health Advisory Level, more area testing is necessary to determine if contamination is a risk to drinking water in a larger area. Officials say they want to provide residents with this new information and share our plan to investigate.