KALAMAZOO (WKZO AM/FM) — Tests on water samples taken from the Kalamazoo River from Marshall to Lake Michigan have found PFAS at unsafe levels at four locations.
One of the samples was taken downstream from the Air National Guard Base in Battle Creek and the others are believed to be leaching from the former Crown Vantage Paper Mill in Parchment.
Some levels in the river near the paper mill were 164-times higher than the limit for drinking water at 11,500 parts per trillion.
Those results will likely trigger tests on fish next, to determine if fish advisories should be issued warning anglers than they are not safe to eat.
There are already fish advisories on the Kalamazoo River for PCB’s.
This comes after Parchment and Cooper Township residents are slowly getting their lives back to normal after PFAS was discovered in their municipal water system and they spent a month using bottled water as crews worked to connect them to Kalamazoo’s city water system.
Officials with the City of Battle Creek say one place you will not find PFAS is in their municipal water system.
They say state testing on water taken from the Verona Pumping Station show that no PFAS at all was found in their water samples.