PFAS has been found since 2014 in the drinking water for the city of Ann Arbor, which uses the river for 85 percent of the water sent to water customers.
The company’s influent — or water going into the Wixom wastewater treatment plant – reached 28,000 ppt of PFOS, one chemical in the PFAS family.
The city is now working with the company to reduce the PFOS, Kammer said, noting that it’s an emerging issue with evolving timelines and technology.
State officials informed the manager of Wixom’s wastewater treatment plant in a letter sent Aug. 6 that the city was expected to do monthly tests of its effluent and "work cooperatively" with the confirmed source of PFOS.
He added that the city is navigating an emerging situation without a roadmap for a solution.
Additional PFOS readings beyond the Norton Creek location, which is in the Proud Lake State Recreation Area, total 1,400 ppt just northwest of the creek as it moves toward the Huron River; 2.4 ppt to the east; 15 ppt at Strawberry Lake in Livingston County; 11 ppt and 9 ppt north of and in Dexter, respectively; and 26 ppt in Willow Run Creek, east of Ypsilanti.
Results showed that fish taken from Kent Lake near Milford and Argo Pond in Ann Arbor exceeded safety levels, while fish from Base Line Lake in Livingston County was close to the borderline.
The DEQ did not test foam on the Huron River in Ann Arbor, but city officials did as they elevate their focus on PFAS beyond drinking water.
The city operates four dams on the Huron River as part of its drinking water program, and foam at each dam was tested.
"I’m encouraged to see the DEQ following up" to see if there are additional polluters in the Huron River, Rubin said.

E. coli bacteria reside in human and animal waste and certain strains can cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea and headaches.
The risk of illness is greater for the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.
Regal Mobile Estates residents who use the water should boil it first before drinking it, preparing meals, washing dishes or brushing their teeth, health officials said.
That company is owned by Hurst & Son LLC, which manages 18 other similar communities in Washington and Idaho.
The company is providing free cases of bottled water for the residents.
“It’s a lot to expect senior citizens to carry 40-pound cases of water to their homes,” he said.
Mosier said he and his neighbors are making the best of the situation, but he worries about the strain it is placing on the tight-knit community, especially on those who have trouble getting around or who have memory problems and may forget the water is contaminated and drink it.
Some have had to come up with creative solutions to move the heavy loads.
One woman who uses an electric wheelchair has been balancing a case of water on her legs to carry it to nearby homes.
“(The owners) have a problem and now they have to proceed with better treatment or a better source,” he said.

HASTINGS, Minn. – The City of Hastings released a water advisory to residents on Saturday after discovering E. coli bacteria in a section of their public water system.
According to the city, only certain areas in Hasting should follow the advisory, which states that residents should not drink the tap water without boiling it first, or they should seek an alternative source, such as bottled water.
The advisory reports that the water may have been contaminated with animal or human waste and when digested, the bacteria could cause short-term health risks, such as headaches, diarrhea, nausea or cramps.
However, there is a special health risk for young children, elderly people and those with compromised immune systems.
Although the city has not confirmed how the water was contaminated, they are working with the Minnesota Department of Health to resolved the issue and have created a map to help residents check to see if their area was affected.
RELATED: Check to see if your area was affected by the E. coli contamination The City of Hasting plans to treat the water with chlorine to help disinfect the system beginning Sept. 22 until Sept. 23, and report that the water should be drinkable in three to five days.
When the city treats the system with chlorine, however, they warn residents not to be alarmed by the discoloration in the water, as it is an effect of the chemical’s reaction with the iron and magnesium in the pipes and is safe to drink.

KEAAU, HAWAII (HawaiiNewsNow) – The state Department of Health has notified the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corporation of possible water violations in their water system, a company spokesperson said Saturday.
The notification came after water samples from a water well in the Keaau system tested positive for E. coli bacteria.
"The problem was discovered on September 21, 2018.
Since that time, the water may not have adequate disinfection and may pose a risk for customers," the corporation said in a news release Saturday.
Additional tests are being conducted to figure out the extent of the problem.
At this point, the corporation says no Mauna Loa mac nut products were affected by the contaminated water, and no product recalls have been issued.
Residents seeking more information on the situation may call Lotus Pond Communications at (808) 551-1649.
This story will be updated with new details as they become available.
Copyright 2018 Hawaii News Now.
All rights reserved.

City school officials showed up last Tuesday armed with fresh water and a repair plan for a Brooklyn high school where a $5,100 high-tech water fountain never got turned on because of dangerous lead levels.
The Post reported on Sept. 15 that students had raised money to buy the new fountain to bring clean water to the International HS at Prospect Heights, which is housed in a 95-year-old building.
But the fountain remained unused after being installed last June because tests found lead contamination in the water.
Two days after the story ran, Department of Education workers hauled in five-gallon jugs of purified water and a dispenser, which they set up for students and staff near principal Nedda deCastro’s office.
Plumbers removed “particulate matter” in the soldering that links the building pipes to the fountain, and the water will be retested, officials said in a letter to school staff.
“Educational bureaucrats converged on our school,” said a grateful Steve Watson, a math teacher who helped the teens sell popcorn to buy the HydroBoost bubbler and water cooler.
“Thanks to the Post reporting, the level of effort to get this thing resolved is greater than it has ever been,” he said.
Under a 2016 state law, schools must provide safe water for free.

GEORGETOWN, SC (WCSC) – Some residents in Georgetown County are under a boil water advisory while others are being asked to significantly reduce water consumption before anticipated flooding begins.
The Georgetown County Water and Sewer District advises the residents of the Garden City Point Water System in Georgetown County to vigorously boil their water for at least one full minute prior to drinking or cooking.
Also, any ice made from water which has not been boiled should not be used for drinking purposes.
Georgetown County Water System Operations Director Michael Yip said a water line break reported from Grand Strand Water and Sewer Authority caused a loss of pressure for the Garden City Point Water System.
The district also asked customers in the Waccamaw Neck water system, including people who live in Garden City, Murrells Inlet, Huntington Beach, Litchfield Beach, Pawleys Island, Prince George, and Debordieu, to temporarily reduce water consumption by 50 percent.
Georgetown County Water and Sewer District and state Department of Health and Environmental Control officials say they do not anticipate water quality issues for the Waccamaw Neck Water Treatment Plant.
But they’re asking customers to reduce water consumption until state Department of Health and Environmental Control officials notify the District that the potential water contamination is over.
“We will continue to monitor the water quality daily from the potential fly ash pond breach into the Waccamaw River and update our customers on any impacts,” District CEO Raymond Gagnon said.
“If water conditions become negatively impacted, we will immediately discontinue using the river for water supply and use our ground water and interconnects with Grand Strand Water and Sewer Authority.”

CHICAGO (CBS) — The city of Chicago insists the drinking water is safe.
But a group of neighbors is raising concerns.
Organizers are collecting names for a petition and launching a campaign to better understand the issue and trying to help those most at risk.
The city said its lines are safe, but questions remain about the lead service lines connecting homes to those city pipes.
Past concerns about lead have sprung up in some CPS schools and public park fountains.
But the campaign “Lead Out Now” is focused on Chicago’s homes.
Back in 2016, CBS 2 Investigators reported Chicago had as many as 300,000 homes with lead service lines.
Beacham believed the totals could be even higher.
“I understand that people have been throwing big numbers out and saying how are you gonna do this but we’re talking about children,” he said.
The city of Chicago issued a statement that said “we have never been shy about addressing, discussing and acting on this important issue.

HASTINGS, Minn. (KMSP) – The city of Hastings has issued a boil water advisory to its residents after detecting E. coli bacteria in a section of the city’s public water system.
The advisory was issued Saturday which includes a map of the city that shows where possible contaminated water could exist.
It calls on residents to bring all water to a full, rolling boil for one minute or longer and to let it cool before using.
Bottled water is another, alternative option for residents.
According to the advisory, E. coli are bacteria whose presence indicates that water may be contaminated with human or animal wastes.
If you experience any of these symptoms and they continue, the city is urging you to seek medical advice.
From the city of Hastings: E. coli bacteria were found in a section of the City of Hastings water system.
Bacterial contamination may occur for a wide variety of reasons.
We will be adding chlorine to the affected section of the City water system to disinfect the system beginning on Saturday, Sep. 22 through Sunday, Sep. 23.
We anticipate resolving problem within 3-5 days.

A message circulating on social media from Blairgowrie Primary School has sent panic through the community with claims that the school’s water has been contaminated.
Ward 99 councillor Nicole van Dyk said she had tried to get ahold of the principal, however, she could not be reached.
Van Dyk, along with Joburg Water officials then visited the school on the afternoon of 21 Septemeber where they were given a report on the water done by an external company.
Joburg Water has agreed to test the water as soon as possible to make sure the allegations made are in fact true.
She expressed the report given to the school about its water’s status should have first been given to Joburg Water before they sent out the alert of water contamination.
She also added that prior to this no one from the community at large had had concerns about the water and its safety.
“What we need to know is why the school saw it important to test the water in the first place,” she said.
Though it has not been confirmed it is suspected the water the school uses for its grounds is supplied by borehole whilst the water they receive from the taps in their bathrooms is fed by the City.
Van Dyk said she now awaits the report back from Joburg Water and will get back to the community as soon as the information is available.
The paper called the school for comment but they declined to respond to the statement sent out.

An article by our partner, the Journal de l’Environnement.
Mercury contamination is reaching alarming levels, according to a report published by the European Environment Agency (EEA) on 19 September.
Although mercury is one of the ten most dangerous chemicals in the world, excessive concentrations are still observed in 46,000 out of 111,000 European surface water bodies.
These concentrations mainly come from emissions generated by the combustion of coal, lignite and wood and, to a lesser extent, gold mining and certain industrial processes.
That is why it can be found in the air, the water, the soil and in animals.
In the atmosphere, its current concentrations are 500% higher than natural levels and in oceans they are 200% higher.
When consumed by animals, it contaminates the entire food chain.
The report also revealed that approximately 50% of anthropogenic mercury observed in Europe comes from beyond its borders.
Limitations of the Minamata Convention The bad news is that even urgent major action would not be able to reduce the concentrations down to the levels observed before the industrial age.
This is a pollution that is expected to further increase as a result of global warming.