The Multi Lake Water & Sewer Authority wants to learn more about where the PFAS forever chemicals are originating from and how it’s getting into the wastewater stream at Multi Lake’s facility on North Territorial in Dexter Township.
Officials said PFAS has been detected in the plant’s monitoring wells, but not in nearby homes, where they have been tested and none have detected PFAS.
It was announced on June 26, that the Multi Lake Water and Sewer Authority (MLWSA) was awarded a grant from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) for an Emerging Contaminant Assessment Project (PFAS) in the amount of $192,806.
Dexter Township residents represent nearly 60 percent of the MLWSA customer base.
In Dexter Township’s monthly update to the community, the township said “The purpose of the grant is to fund strategically planned testing to improve impaired water and to protect unimpaired waters in our area.”
The grant will enable the Authority to test monitoring wells and pumping stations to determine where PFAS is originating, and how it is getting into the wastewater stream at Multi Lake’s facility on North Territorial in Dexter Township.
MLWSA will use the grant to help identify sources and eliminate them to protect area waters. The term of the grant is from June 30, 2024 to June 30, 2026.
According to MLWSA, PFAS is a class of man-made chemicals that is widespread throughout the environment and is known to be a trace contaminant found in many common consumer products, including Teflon, waterproofing compounds, firefighting compounds, and many others.
There are virtually no industrial or commercial properties served by Multi Lakes.
PFAS has been connected with a wide range of dangerous health effects. According to the PFAS flyer put out by the MLWSA, the health impacts include: negative reproductive effects, developmental delays in children, increased risk of some cancers, reduced ability of the body’s immune system to fight infections, reduced vaccine response, interference with the body’s natural hormones and increased cholesterol levels and/or risk of obesity.