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Parchment, Kalamazoo come to agreement to supply clean water after PFAS contamination

City officials in Kalamazoo and Parchment approved the agreement on Monday.
Credit: Thinkstock
Flowing water in a kitchen sink

An agreement has been finalized so southwestern Michigan residents dealing with chemical contamination in their water will get clean water.

The Kalamazoo City Commission and the Parchment City Commission approved an agreement Monday for Kalamazoo to provide a year's worth of water to Parchment's water system, which also serves parts of Cooper Township.

►Related: Gov. Rick Snyder tours Parchment water system construction site

The update comes after Parchment's water supply was found to be tainted with man-made chemicals called perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Those substances, among chemicals referred to broadly as PFAS, are used in manufacturing, firefighting and household and consumer products.

About 3,000 people on Parchment's water system were told July 26 to stop using the water due to the contamination. A state of emergency was declared. The contamination's source or how long it may have existed isn't known.

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