The trace amounts of PFAS in Plainfield Township's municipal water will be filtered out soon, township officials said on Monday, Jan. 8.
In December, the township board approved a $400,000 investment in a municipal carbon filter to remove the industrial chemicals. Plainfield Township water regularly tests around eight parts per trillion for PFAS, well below the Environmental Protection Agency's lifetime safe drinking advisory level of 70 parts per trillion.
The filter will be installed after the MMEQ issues a permit, said township attorney Doug Van Essen at a board meeting.
"We are still hopeful that we can get such a system onto our municipal water plant within 30 to 60 days or so," Van Essen said.
The board meeting packed with concerned residents, many saying PFAS is not the only issue in the municipal water. Members of the activist Facebook group Demand Action From Plainfield Township, said the board needs to address other chemicals, such as hexavalent chromium and 1,4-dioxane, they say showed up in past tests.
Plainfield Township used to pump water from a well field at Versluis Lake, which tested positive for PFAS in 2013. The well field is near an old landfill, now a superfund site, on East Beltline and a Wolverine Worldwide dumpsite at Boulder Creek Golf Course.
Plainfield Township said in December that it is negotiating with "responsible parties" to discuss payment of the filter.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the WZZM 13 app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@wzzm13.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter.