Read the full article by William T. Perkins (News-Review)
“PELLSTON — Pellston residents will be able to receive an update on ongoing water contamination tests in their area next week.
Officials from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) began testing private wells in Pellston three months ago, after elevated levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyls (PFAS) were detected in a private well in town. Since then, Christiaan Bon, project manager, said EGLE has tested 161 wells, with 86 sites showing at least some level of PFAS in the water.
On Thursday, EGLE officials, along with representatives from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the Health Department of Northwest Michigan, will host an online town hall for members of the public offering further information on those findings.
‘The May 13 meeting is planned as an online event, rather than an in-person meeting, to comply with current state measures designed to suppress the spread of the COVID-19 virus,’ an EGLE press release stated.
The meeting begins at 6 p.m. and can be accessed by going to Michigan.gov/PFASResponse and clicking on the Public Meetings button. A Village of Pellston Virtual Town Hall Meeting link will be on the calendar…
According to past interviews with Bon, the wells that showed results above the 70-parts-per-trillion threshold all fall within the perimeter that had been designated as the initial sampling territory for the area — covering the west side of town from Washington Street to Mill Street, and east-side areas including parts of Washington, Pell, Bogardus, State and Wright streets. That area was chosen because of its proximity to the airport, which is considered the most likely source of the contamination.
All the elevated results are also west of U.S. 31, with other less-elevated results popping up further south and southeast, suggesting a groundwater plume that fanned out as it followed the general path of the West Branch of the Maple River watershed…”