Toxic tap water probe: Neighborhood moves to bottled water
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PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Residents who live across from Rockford High School and rely on well water are the latest to be moved to bottled water as Wolverine Worldwide and state officials continue their investigation into contaminated wells found near a former company dump site.
A letter sent to residents on Rezen Drive and Rezen Court off Kroes Street NE reads in part: “MDEQ has received reports that waste may have been disposed of in the vicinity of Rezen Drive in the early 1960s.
While Wolverine is not aware of any such disposal, we are voluntarily offering to sample your well and others in the Rezen Drive area, and offering to provide bottled water while waiting for your results.” Residents worry what the results could show.
“Now it’s just the unknown, you know.
I’ve been here 25 years, so now suddenly to be told the water you thought was perfect… What have I been drinking?” David Noorman asked.
However Tuesday, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality confirmed they’re investigating upwards of 35 dump sites throughout northern Kent County.
The dump site investigations are based on resident tips and remain unconfirmed while the DEQ tests for the likely carcinogen PFOS, which remains at the center of the toxic tap water investigation.
If you are eligible for a whole-house water filtration system from Wolverine Worldwide, you can call 616.866.5627 or email HouseStreet@wwwinc.com.
Websites with additional information on the contamination: Play Video Play Loaded: 0% Progress: 0% Remaining Time -0:00 This is a modal window.
Farmington Schools affected by water emergency to resume as normal Thursday
FARMINGTON, Mich. – All seven Farmington Schools affected by the Oakland County water emergency will reopen Thursday as normal, school officials announced.
Here is the information from Farmington Schools: "We are happy to announce that school will be in session at the seven schools that have been affected by the recent water main break.
We have been working to make sure our schools are safe for students and staff to return to school as soon as possible."
Drinking Water While the water advisory is in effect, the schools have covered up all the water fountains in their buildings.
The schools have bottled water on hand for anyone who needs it.
Students and staff are also encouraged to bring in bottled water while the school is under the “Boil Water Advisory.” Restrooms The schools have operational restroom facilities.
Please know that our Nutrition Services Department is following all the safety requirements such as boiling water in the preparation of school lunches.
Information from the City of Farmington Hills Bottled water will be distributed at the Costick Center located at 28600 Eleven Mile Road.
Residents should also bring containers to fill with potable water in case the bottled water supply has run out.
Copyright 2017 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.
State urged to pull plug on bottled water spending
“It makes no sense to purchase and throw away water bottles,” Janet Rothrock told the State Administration and Regulatory Oversight Committee.
A one-liter bottle costing $1.50 is 1,850 times as expensive as a liter of tap water.
This is a wasteful use of taxpayer money, and secondly it can be unhealthy.
Bottled water is tested only by the manufacturer, test results are not made public, and water sold within its state of origin is not required to be tested.” Rothrock is a resident of Concord, which voted in April 2012 to ban the sale of single-serve bottled water.
A member of the group Concord on Tap, she said the town’s culture has changed since that decision, with more water fountains installed and pitchers of water with paper cups a common sight at municipal meetings.
Rothrock and Clint Richmond of the Massachusetts Sierra Club appeared together before the committee Wednesday to ask that its members support a Rep. Chris Walsh bill (H 3451) to prohibit the use of state dollars to buy bottled water “for use in facilities that are served by public water supplies or potable well water, except when required for safety, health or emergency situations.” The Framingham Democrat’s bill has only a handful of cosponsors — Democrat Reps. Jonathan Hecht, Paul Heroux, Denise Provost, Jack Lewis and Claire Cronin and Republican Rep. Steven Howitt — and similar efforts have come up short in the past.
In 2014, the State Administration Committee killed that session’s version of the bill, filed by former Rep. Tom Sannicandro, by including it in an order for further study.
Last session, Sannicandro’s bill won the panel’s endorsement, but died without making it out the House Ways and Means Committee.
Richmond told lawmakers Wednesday the move makes sense because the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority provides “some of the best tap water in the country.”Bottled water spending and related equipment rental costs totaled $192,215 from the July 1 start of the fiscal year through Oct. 19, according to the state’s Open Checkbook database.
The National Park Service in 2011 implemented a policy encouraging parks to stop selling disposable water bottles, but the service in August announced it would reverse the move, which it said “removed the healthiest beverage choice at a variety of parks while still allowing sales of bottled sweetened drinks.” “While we will continue to encourage the use of free water bottle filling stations as appropriate, ultimately it should be up to our visitors to decide how best to keep themselves and their families hydrated during a visit to a national park, particularly during hot summer visitation periods,” Michael Reynolds, the acting National Park Service director, said in an Aug. 15 statement.
Free bottled water offered in parts of Oakland County affected by water main break
The water main break triggered a boil water alert that remains in effect until late Friday in many of the 12 affected communities.
Novi Free bottled water is available at the Novi Civic Center, 45175 W. 10 Mile Road, Novi, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., as well as at Fire Station 2, 1919 Paramount St. Free bottled water is also available at Feldman Chevrolet dealership, 42355 Grand River Ave., Novi.
Read more: Farmington Hills Free bottled water is available at the Costick Center, 28600 11 Mile Road, Farmington Hills.
Bloomfield Township Free bottled water is available from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Bloomfield Township Senior Center, 4315 Andover Rd.
Identification showing the water recipient is a township resident is required.
West Bloomfield A filling station for safe water is available at Keith Sport Park, at the corner of Willow and Keith roads.
Until city or township officials in the respective, affected communities, and/or the Great Lakes Water Authority, give notification that tap water has been determined safe for consumption, residents should continue to bring water from their taps to a boil and allow it to cool before using it for things such as drinking, cooking, brushing teeth and making ice.
Great Lakes Water Authority officials on Tuesday afternoon said the target for completion of repairs and testing is late Friday.
Contact Keith Matheny: 313-222-5021 or kmatheny@freepress.com.
Follow on Twitter @keithmatheny.
For Love of Nature: Think globally about water conservation
Turning off the tap while brushing your teeth, while worthwhile, is literally a drop in the bucket compared to other ways we waste water.
The best way to conserve water is not to waste food and to eat meat sparingly.
According to the United Nations, agriculture accounts for 70 percent of all water consumption worldwide, compared to 20 percent for industry and 10 percent for domestic use.
We waste up to half of all food produced.
In industrialized nations, however, industries consume more than half of the water available for human use.
According to the International Bottled Water Association, North American companies use 1.39 liters to make one liter of bottled water.
Basically anything we waste is a waste of water and energy.
An estimated 5,000 children die every day from diarrhea, or one every 17 seconds.
We are fortunate to have clean, reliable sources of drinking water, and we shouldn’t take them for granted.
If we stop to think about it, we may start to treat it that way, drought or no.
Rockford homes on bottled water near suspected sludge dumps
ROCKFORD, MI — Wolverine World Wide is distributing bottled water to homes near Rockford High School as part of an expanding investigation into historical tannery waste dumping that has contaminated the Plainfield Township groundwater.
Credible reports of past liquid hazardous waste disposal have led investigators to two neighborhoods on private well water, said Abigail Hendershott, acting remediation division supervisor in the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Grand Rapids office.
Homes on Rezen Drive and Rezen Court NE, as well as homes near the 6900 block of Childsdale Ave. NE are being tested for the same tannery waste chemicals that are confirmed in drinking water wells elsewhere in Plainfield Township.
Hendershott said the DEQ began investigating the neighborhoods as suspected Wolverine dump sites after being contacted independently by several area property owners who gave similar accounts of "trucks dumping some sort of liquid there, historically."
In the 1960s, Wolverine disposed of tannery waste at a 76-acre landfill at 1855 House Street NE.
Hendershott said Wolverine is testing water on Rezen Drive though a consultant, but the DEQ is testing the Childsdale area wells.
Hendershott said that past landowners may have given Wolverine approval to dump at the new sites are under investigation.
The DEQ asked the public to help identify dump sites by calling 1-800-662-9278 with firsthand accounts of tannery waste disposal.
The DEQ is getting "hundreds of calls" about sites, and is trying to prioritize ones where there’s indication liquid waste disposal may have contaminated the groundwater.
Test results are expected back this week from East Rockford Middle School, which switched to bottled water on Oct. 12 as a precautionary move when tannery waste was discovered nearby on Ramsdell Drive NE.
Oakland County water emergency: Everything we know
The danger of tap-water contamination has spurred a boil water advisory, starting Monday, across a wide area of Oakland County, affecting communities such as Bloomfield Township, Farmington Hills, Novi and Walled Lake, plus others.
It’s a public health advisory given by government officials when a city or community’s water system could be contaminated by bacteria.
Until the advisory is lifted, residents are advised to boil water before drinking it or using it to cook to ensure there is no bacteria before consumption.
How did this happen?
People are advised to boil tap water or use bottled water for drinking, brushing teeth, washing fruits and vegetables, preparing food or making ice.
How long will this last?
The boil-water advisory affecting 11 Oakland County communities will likely continue until at least late Friday evening, authorities said.
Repairs to the large, failing water main on 14 Mile Road between Farmington and Drake roads are estimated to take until Wednesday night, before two rounds of water-quality testing bring the earliest possible end to the emergency on "late Friday evening," according to a Great Lakes Water Authority news release.
School closings All schools in the West Bloomfield, Bloomfield Hills, Walled Lake and Novi school districts are closed today.
According to the advisory, you should bring all water to a boil, let it boil for one minute, and let it cool before using, or use bottled water.
Dry Taps In Novi: Little To No Water Throughout Entire City
NOVI (WWJ) – The entire city of Novi is dealing with little or no water pressure Tuesday morning due to a major water main break.
“Those north of 12 Mile have completely lost their water, and those south of 12 Mile are experiencing a greatly diminished water pressure, and will at some point lose their water as well,” Wash-Molloy told WWJ Newsradio 950.
Walsh-Molloy said they’re asking Novi residents who still have water to use it sparingly.
“Don’t run your washing machine, your dishwasher, obviously no showering if you have it,” she told WWJ Newsradio 950.
They’ve also set up a tanker strike force with surrounding communities in case more water is needed.
Not only are the taps dry, WWJ’s Mike Campbell reports so are some store shelves as residents flock to buy bottled water.
A sign on the door states the store is sold out of water.
As a result, all elective surgeries are cancelled and ambulances are being rerouted.
A dozen communities in western Oakland County remain under a mandatory boil water advisory; and a fix could take several days.
A quarter-million people are affected.
11 Oakland County areas under boil-water alert
A water main break has prompted the Great Lakes Water Authority to issue a mandatory boil water alert for 11 Oakland County communities.
The alert has prompted dozens of school closings Tuesday.
The Great Lakes Water Authority said Tuesday morning water was shut off in Novi because of the water main break.
Repairs could take up to five days.
The transmission main break on 14 Mile Road between Farmington and Drake sparked a drop in water pressure, authority officials said.
Residents must bring all water to a boil for at least one minute before using.
Boiled, bottled or disinfected water should be used for drinking, making ice, washing dishes, brushing teeth and preparing food until further notice.
Boiling water before using will kill bacteria and other organisms that may be in the water.
The GLWA will alert affected communities when the boil water advisory has been lifted.
Guidelines on reducing the risk of infection by microbes are available from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.
14 Mile water main break causes low pressure problems for numerous cities
(WJBK) – A water main break on 14 Mile Road is affecting residents of three communities Monday night.
Water pressure issues have been reported in Bloomfield Township, Farmington Hills, West Bloomfield and Novi.
Fourteen Mile near Drake Road is closed while crews work on the water main break which happened at 5:45 p.m.
These precautionary actions are being taken due to the loss of water pressure in the water distribution system from a water main break.
Corrective measures are currently being undertaken to correct the situation.
DO NOT DRINK THE WATER WITHOUT BOILING IT FIRST.
Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water.
This boil water notice shall remain in effect until results from the sampling verify the water is safe to drink.
For more information, please contact Scott Roselle at 248-735-5661 or 26300 Lee BeGole Drive, Novi Michigan 48375.
General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are available from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1(800) 426-4791.