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Homes on tainted wells near Michigan airport will get city water

Homes on tainted wells near Michigan airport will get city water
June 28, 2021 The Associated Press

CASCADE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Hundreds of homes that use well water near the Grand Rapids-area airport could be connected to a public water source by 2023 after the state set aside $5 million for the project, officials said.

The homes in Cascade Township have wells in an area of polluted groundwater. A firefighting foam used by Gerald R. Ford International Airport had PFAS.

PFAS is shorthand for a class of chemicals known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. The chemicals are increasingly turning up in private wells, sludge from wastewater treatment plants and even food.

Forty homes near the airport have levels of PFAS above state drinking water standards, and another 222 had some detection of the chemicals, MLive.com reported. Hundreds more could be eligible for a new water source.

Officials would like the airport to contribute to the $13 million cost of connecting the homes to the Grand Rapids water system.

“We are engaged in productive conversations with EGLE, the attorney general’s office and Cascade Township regarding these matters,” said Casey Ries, the airport’s engineering director, referring to the state environmental agency. “It has been requested that those conversations and a timeline for next steps are confidential and we respect this request.”


Catch up on more PFAS news on Great Lakes Now:

PFAS News Roundup: PFAS in bottled water and makeup, “Filthy Fifty” list generated, corporations drop toxic packaging

PFAS News Roundup: Companies hid dangers from FDA, professor documents stories, study shows high levels in fertilizer

PFAS Around the Great Lakes Region: Actions taken in each state or province and standards set, if any

The middle of a massive contamination’: Residents of Wisconsin region struggle with aftereffects of dangerous ‘forever chemicals’

Raining PFAS: Amount of PFAS found is outpacing legacy contaminants

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Featured image: Water fills a glass (Great Lakes Now Episode 1012)

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