CASCADE TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The investigation into PFAS water contamination in Cascade is growing as state officials add 76 more homes to the sampling area.
PFAS are man-made chemicals, often called "forever chemicals," that don't break down naturally and can cause health problems with long-term exposure. The state agency EGLE (Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy) previously added 120 homes and is now expanding further based on test results and groundwater flow patterns.
"We decide to expand the sampling area based on several different factors, the geology in the area, the groundwater flow direction, and most importantly, the results that we're seeing," said Leah Gies, an environmental quality analyst with EGLE's remediation and redevelopment division.
So far, EGLE says 70 of 166 tested wells have come back higher than the state's PFAS drinking water standards. Another 82 wells showed PFAS detections below state criteria, while 14 wells showed no detection.
For more information about PFAS, click here.
Growing Costs and Funding Challenges
The expanding investigation means rising costs for connection to city water. EGLE now estimates it could cost about $12.5 million to connect the currently identified area to municipal water.
"We do expect this to take several years to get the funding lined up," Gies said.
EGLE asks for funding from the state legislature annually, but Gies said this amount is "quite a lot compared to what our division normally gets for projects that need to cover statewide." The agency is also looking for federal and state grants to supplement their budget.
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Source Investigation
EGLE is working to identify the contamination source by analyzing well depths and planning to install environmental monitoring wells at targeted depths.
"We really wanted to focus this first phase of the investigation on residential drinking water wells to make sure that people are getting the filters if they need them," Gies said. "But now that we're stepping out and starting to have a lot of data to look at, we can focus more on environmental and hopefully pinpointing a source."
Homeowner Concerns
For homeowner Jeff Marion, who received one of the testing letters, the timeline is concerning.
"If you're looking at a glass of water and you know there's PFAS in it - would you want to drink it?" Marion said. "I don't even want to fill my bird bath with contaminated water."
Marion, who works as a realtor, said many PFAS cases in the area have been discovered during home sales.
"A lot of these things were caught at point of sale," Marion said. "I guess in my role, I want to make sure I encourage more testing at point of sale, because without it, people would still be drinking contaminated water and wouldn't know about it."
Neighbor Bill Horn wasn't surprised when he received his letter after reading about contamination in nearby areas.
"I had read about the findings up south of 30th Street, where they found PFAS in various wells, and figured that the groundwater would be flowing from there down here towards the Thornapple River, and so it likely could be in our water," Horn said.
State Response
EGLE provides free water filters for homes that test above state criteria, installed on kitchen sinks with free replacement cartridges every six months.
EGLE plans to seek state funding this fall for municipal water connections, though the permanent solution could still take several years.
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