COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency has been told by the Department of Environmental Quality that water sample results from the PFAS state-wide survey are starting to become available for water supplies in the three counties.
Plans for a $1.7 million statewide study of PFAS levels in public water supplies by the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team were announced last May.
Samples were collected in Branch, Hillsdale, and St. Joseph Counties in September and October. Some results are now available on line at www.michigan.gov/pfasresponse/.
There are 11 Branch County sites listed on the results page with only two samples of raw water which showed traces of PFAS at the Grand Village Mobile Home Park and at the Countryside Mobile Court. Both samples were well below the advisory level that has been established by the Environmental Protection Agency. Raw Water is a sample taken directly from a well or water source.
Health officials point out it is not uncommon to find low levels of PFAS in drinking water supplies, as PFAS can be found in firefighting foams, stain repellants, nonstick cookware, waterproof clothing, food wrappers, and many other household products. They do not break down in the environment and move easily into water.
