PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- About a hundred people gathered at the Plainfield Township board meeting Monday night amid ongoing concerns with their drinking water. It comes after news that their communities may be tainted by cancer-causing contaminants known as PFAS left behind from old dumpsites by Wolverine Worldwide.
Monday's meeting included a presentation from the township's water department, who said they've known about potential PFAS since 2013. They said in March 2014, a sample was taken, with results given to the EPA in August of that year.
According to the water department, it wasn't until January of this year that the EPA released the final results from that testing. Residents who spoke Monday said they want to know why they weren't notified of any risks sooner than this.
"We’ve lived here close to 18 years where we’re at and a year ago December we tried to get our house ready to sell," one resident said at the meeting. "Now we’re finding out our property values are going down, down. Now we can’t sell.”
From 2014 to 2015, Plainfield Township used the Versluis well field. They stopped in 2015 after elevated levels of PFAS were found when the raw water was tested. During Monday's meeting, the township said it's now looking for new groundwater sources with the help of private consultants.
They're also looking at different ways to treat their water, saying current lime-softening treatments aren't effective when it comes to removing PFAS.
Dozens of sites are being tested for possible PFAS contamination around the area. Wolverine Worldwide has set up a blog for residents to follow along with updates on the situation.
