Read the full article by Sheri Mcwhirter (Record Eagle)
“TRAVERSE CITY — A quicker solution than once thought may be coming down the pipe for East Bay Township residents with PFAS contamination in their water wells.
Grand Traverse County leaders will meet Wednesday morning to discuss whether public land bank dollars may be used to connect Pine Grove residents with tainted drinking water wells to the municipal water supply.
The contaminated wells were discovered through a recent state investigation into per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals migrating north through the groundwater from the designated aviation area shared by the U.S. Coast Guard’s Air Station Traverse City and Cherry Capital Airport.
All 15 wells already tested returned results with at least some PFAS chemicals, while at least seven showed levels above state maximum standards for drinking water — multiple along Avenue B.
Health department officials said all of the homes have access to free bottled water at the fire station at Parsons Avenue and Three Mile Road. Plans call for filtration systems to be installed at kitchen sinks in the affected homes until connections to the municipal system can be finalized.
East Bay Township officials said they intend to pursue a state grant to pay for the work, but a decision on that likely won’t come until April. Some county officials want things to move faster than that.
‘I would love if we could give the residents some type of assurance before the holiday,’ said Rob Hentschel, Grand Traverse County Board chairman…”