LANSING, Mich. — Results are in from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s test of PFAS levels in water systems around the state.
The $1.7 million study was commissioned last year and tested more than 1,000 water systems, nearly 500 schools that operate their own wells and 17 tribal water systems. Only two systems came back with PFAS levels above the lifetime advisory level of 70 parts per trillion and 90 percent of the tests came back with no detection of PFAS chemicals at all.
The two systems that came back over the advisory level were not a surprise: the City of Parchment and Robinson Elementary School in Ottawa County. Last August, we reported that Parchment had switched over to use the Kalamazoo water supply after the high levels of PFAS were found and Robinson Elementary has been using bottled water since October when the test results came in.
The MDEQ says they are still investigating more than 43 sites with known sources of PFAS contamination, from landfills to military bases. The study did not cover private wells, like the ones contaminated in Belmont from apparent chemical dumping from Wolverine Worldwide in the past.
To check other MDEQ tests and filtering options for your home, click here.
