Swimmers are advised to stay out of Kalamazoo County's Woods Lake. The Michigan Court of Appeals will hear a case over Nestle's efforts to pump more groundwater. PFAS contamination is found at another military base in Michigan.
(Kalamazoo Gazette) Kalamazoo County has issued an advisory recommending that people not swim in Woods Lake near Oakland Drive. The Kalamazoo Gazette reports that the advisory was issued because of high levels of e-coli bacteria in the lake. The Kalamazoo County Environmental Health Unit advises against total body contact, and taking extra precautions not to drink water from Woods Lake. New test results from water samples are expected Wednesday.
(WCMU) The Michigan Court of Appeals will take up a case involving a Nestle pumping station near Evart, in Osceola county. The court granted Osceola Township’s application for appeal on July 18th, but officials with the township say it could be over a year before the case reaches oral arguments. At issue is a pumping station which Nestle wants to build in order to increase its water withdrawals in the region. William Fahey is an attorney representing the township. He said Nestle tried to get a special permit to build the station in an agricultural district.
“In order to qualify you have to show that your facility is going to meet the public convenience and necessity. That’s where things fell down for Nestle.”
In a written statement a spokesperson for Nestle said they are not surprised by the Appellate Court’s decision and quote “we believe that the circuit court ruling… should be upheld.”
(Mlive) The Selfridge Air National Guard Base north of Detroit has been dumping toxic chemicals into the Clinton River and Lake St. Clair. Those waterbodies are the sources are drinking water for several nearby municipalities. Mlive reports state test results in February came back positive for PFAS. Those are chemicals health experts have linked to increased risk for liver damage, cancer and other serious illnesses. Selfridge in Harrison Township used a PFAS-laden foam to train with and fight fires. PFAS contamination has also been found at the Battle Creek Air National Guard base, and recently, in drinking water wells in Richland Township.
(WNMU) A $13.2-million project to construct a Center for Freshwater Research and Education is underway at Lake Superior State University. The CFRE will let scientists, college students, and area K-12 students learn about the Great Lakes and their importance to the region. Officials hope to have the CFRE functional sometime in 2020.