“WYOMING, MI — West Michigan’s second largest municipal water supply contains low levels of toxic per- and polyfluorinated compounds called PFAS.
Test results of Wyoming municipal tap water show PFOS and PFOA, two PFAS compounds, at combined levels of 4-to-5-parts per trillion — about 16 times below the federal lifetime health advisory of 70-parts per trillion, or ppt.
The levels are similar to those found in the Grand Rapids municipal water supply, which which also sources its water from Lake Michigan.
Michigan health officials previously said the low PFAS levels are not cause for alarm.
Jaime Fleming, laboratory manager at the Wyoming Utilities Department, said there are currently no plans to install PFAS filtration systems at this time.
‘The levels are well below the health advisory limit, so we consider it safe to drink,’ she said. ‘But we are keeping an eye on any new information that comes out, and we’ll stay on top of it. We take our job very seriously.’
Levels found in the Wyoming municipal water system are below stricter health guidelines proposed in a new federal study. According to environmental chemists, the study’s suggested ‘minimum risk levels’ translate roughly to 7-ppt for PFOS and 11-ppt for PFOA…
The Wyoming water system serves about 230,000 residents across Kent and Ottawa counties. It covers Wyoming, Kentwood, Grandville and Hudsonville; the townships of Holland, Georgetown, Jamestown, Gaines and Byron; and small portions of Olive and Blendon townships.
The Grand Rapids water system serves about 300,000 customers.
The Wyoming Utilities Department ordered the testing earlier this year after receiving numerous calls from residents asking about PFAS levels in their water, Fleming said.
Previous tests of the city’s water system did not detect PFAS. But previous tests also had much higher reporting thresholds of 20-ppt for PFOA and 40-ppt for PFOS, meaning that anything below those levels was labelled /non-detect,/ according to Fleming.
This time, the reporting level was much lower. Two of three drinking water distribution sites tested detected PFOS at 3-ppt and PFOA at 2-ppt. The third site had PFOS and PFOA levels both at 2-ppt.
The test results were released to MLive/The Grand Rapids Press ahead of the Department of Environmental Quality’s own testing of the Wyoming water supply — part of the state’s pledge to test 1,380 public water systems and about 460 schools for PFAS.
The state’s results for the Wyoming system are due back any time, Fleming said.”
Read the full article by Michael Kransz