The village of Pellston in Northern Michigan has received $44 million in grant funding to implement a contaminant-free water system for its residents. The funds awarded by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy will finance the creation of a new municipal water system for Pellston.
The new system is necessary after elevated PFAS levels were first reported in the area by the Health Department of Northwest Michigan in 2020. The PFAS were originally detected in residential samples from the south of Pellston airport. It is common to find PFAS near airports due to Aqueous Film Forming Foam, which is used frequently in firefighting training at airports. The foam then finds its way into the soil and groundwater and can potentially spread to private wells.
The project required 51% of current well users in Pellston to commit to the new municipal water system before construction could move forward. Thus far, 87% of respondents have answered a survey in favor of joining the new system. This gave the project enough support to enter its next phase. Residents can still voice their opinions in the survey, which is open for responses up to Dec. 31.
The next steps to build a new municipal water system outside of the area impacted by PFAS will be layout and engineering. The new system will be completely debt-free for residents who enroll. Features that will be implemented to complete the system for the residents include private well abandonment, a new well supply, treatment at the site of the well supply, a transmission main from the well site to the distribution system, a water main, water service connection to interior plumbing, an elevated storage tank, and repaving all impacted roads.
The official sign up for the municipal water system will most likely occur in 2016. Residents who currently have well water will be offered a formal contract to join the new system. The hookups will be free and include everything necessary to use the new water system.
Photo by Tom Fisk from Pexels
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