State says it’s a sign its programs are working On Sunday, July 29th, the State of Michigan declared two townships in Kalamazoo County a state of emergency due to PFAS contamination.
We are testing all municipal water systems.” She says when results came in last week, the state immediately told the more than 3000 residents of Parchment and Cooper townships to stop drinking their water, and the state opened up emergency centers so citizens could pick up supplies of bottled drinking water.
Both townships will then use the city of Kalamazoo’s water supply, and the city of Kalamazoo will continue flushing out Parchment and Cooper township’s water supply system until test results come back that show the PFAS levels are safe.
The MDEQ’s Scott Dean says in this recent case of PFAS contamination, the state of emergency response came from state-sponsored research as well as quick action once the chemical was discovered in the water supplies in Parchment and Cooper Townships.
The testing in Kalamazoo County was conducted as part of Governor Rick Snyder’s unprecedented and proactive effort to test all water systems for these chemicals, which are starting to emerge in many states across the nation and raising public health concerns.” Baker adds, “Due to the ongoing health and safety concerns as a result of the PFAS contamination in the drinking water for the City of Parchment and Cooper Township, Lt. Gov.
He tells Great Lakes Now, “No other state in the union has done more to root out PFAS contamination and protect the public than Michigan.
We set our own to go after polluters while encouraging the EPA to establish a national standard.” Dean says the Parchment and Cooper Township PFAS drinking water contamination sites are the only known municipal PFAS drinking water contamination sites in the state right now, and the state’s own investigation uncovered it.
75% of Michigan’s population is on a public drinking water supply.
High amounts of the chemical PFAS have been found in the water supply of City of Parchment.
The City of Kalamazoo will continue flushing out the City of Parchment’s water supply system until test results come back that shows the PFAS levels are below the health advisory level.