Data requested by MLive-The Flint Journal from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality shows water systems above that action limit in the most recent Lead and Copper Rule testing are located throughout the state and are both large and small — one serving less than 100 homes and others providing water to cities as large as Hamtramck and Benton Harbor.
Lead can enter drinking water when service lines that contain lead corrode, especially where the water has high acidity or low mineral content that corrodes pipes and fixtures, according to the EPA.
Another small water system registered the highest LCR test result in the state — 48 ppb — but a representative of the Hills of Walloon Association said the result was a historical deviation caused by sample from a single faucet that was rarely used in one home.
Fewer than 100 homes draw from the Hills of Walloon water system, according to state records, and the water — drawn from deep wells — registered a 90th percentile of just 6 ppb during the first six months of last year.
Other systems above 15 ppb of lead in the last half of last year are Maple Knoll in Eaton County (44), Lakeview Chalet Condominiums in Oakland County (43), Hermansville Housing Commission in Menominee County (29), the city of Hamtramck in Wayne County (28), the village of Lawrence in Van Buren County (24), Benton Harbor in Berrien County (22), Sims-Whitney Utilities Authority in Arenac County (20), Gun River Estates West in Allegan County (19), Country Living Adult Foster Care in Hillsdale County (16), Kellogg Biological Station in Kalamazoo County (16) and the city of Parchment in Kalamazoo County (16).
Late last year, a health advisory was issued for lead in the city of Parchment’s water, and its 90th percentile was 16 ppb — above the action level.
Parchment connected to the city of Kalamazoo’s water system in August but lead has continued to leach into tap water from old lead service lines still in use.
Lead notices would also have been required in the village of Lawrence in Van Buren County, which registered a 90th percentile of 24 ppb.
The agency’s water was above the federal action level in both the first and second half of 2018 — the only water system in the state to do so.
Flint’s most recent LCR testing showed a 90th percentile of just 4 ppb.