MDEQ Responds to Dingell’s Concerns about Downriver Water Quality
WASHINGTON, DC – (RealEstateRama) — The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) responded to U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell’s January 17th letter seeking answers about the water quality in many Downriver communities. Last week, Dingell’s office received reports of both people and their pets becoming ill after drinking water with discoloration, taste and odor issues. MDEQ Director C. Heidi Grether wrote that the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) continues to conduct expanded testing to ensure the water is safe, and provided water testing results and health guidance for affected residents. The full letter can be read here.
“We will continue to monitor this issue closely to ensure residents can have confidence that the water they drink is safe,” said Dingell. “It is my hope that this letter will help provide answers and peace of mind to members of the community who are rightfully concerned. I encourage any resident who became ill as a result of the water to contact the appropriate agencies to ensure your health is provided for and that these cases are properly tracked and monitored.”
According to MDEQ, residents should report any illness as a result of the water to their local health department and the Detroit Health Department or Wayne County Department of Health, Veterans and Community Wellness.
Detroit Health Department City of Detroit
3245 East Jefferson Avenue, Suite 100
Detroit, Michigan 48207
Telephone: 313-876-4000
Wayne County Disease Control and Surveillance
33030 Van Born
Wayne, Michigan 48184
Telephone: 734-727-7078
MDEQ’s letter can be read here and below.
The Honorable Debbie Dingell
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Congresswoman Dingell:
SUBJECT: Quality of Water Provided by Great Lakes Water Authority to Downriver Communities
Thank you for your January 17, 2017, letter jointly addressed to Governor Rick Snyder and Ms. Sue McCormick, Chief Executive Officer, Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA), regarding the taste and odor issues in the Downriver communities. Please find below the responses to the questions raised in your letter.
1. Is the tap water in Downriver communities currently safe?
Water produced by the GLWA throughout the taste and odor event meet all federal Safe Drinking Water Act and Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act, 1976 PA 399, as amended (SOWA), regulatory standards. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) continues to work with the GLWA to ensure water continues to meet all SOWA standards. In addition, the GLWA has been conducting expanded (nonregulatory) testing to further ensure the water is safe. All test results received have met the SOWA standards.
2. To the best of your knowledge, what is the source of the discoloration and odor issues that are currently present in the water?
The routine cleaning of sedimentation basins at the Southwest Water Treatment Plant resulted in some particulates and the odorous compounds (often associated with the material that has been removed from the water during treatment) to recirculate to the beginning of the treatment process and be fully re-treated through the plant.
3. What strategy is the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) pursuing to address the discoloration and odor issues? How long are these conditions expected to persist?
The conditions appear to have ended on January 18, 2017, but the GLWA continues to conduct additional sampling as well as customer outreach to respond to any remaining concerns.
4. It is my understanding the Great Lakes Water Authority has increased sampling and testing of the water in Downriver communities following these reports. How long will this increased testing occur? Have there been any positive tests for bacteria or volatile organic chemicals? How often is water normally tested in the absence of an emergency or adverse reports from the community?
Enclosed are sample results submitted to the MDEQ that identify the scope and range of the monitoring that has been performed. Water testing frequencies vary depending upon the nature, location, and regulatory requirements or operational needs. Some testing at the treatment plant may be continuous (turbidity, chlorine residuals, etc.) or hourly, some may be conducted every shift or once a day; sampling in the distribution system is often conducted daily but from different sites on a rotating basis; some parameters less frequently but at least as often as required by state or federal regulations.
5. Increased transparency will help promote public confidence that everything possible is being done to address the situation. Publicly releasing test results as they come in, regardless of whether they contain evidence of contamination or not, would bring peace of mind to many residents. Will results from testing the water be released to the public?
Yes. Again, enclosed are summaries of the data provided to the MDEQ from the expanded testing conducted in the customer communities.
6. Our office has received many reports of both people and their pets becoming ill after drinking the discolored water. What should residents who have become sick from ingesting the water be doing to ensure their health is provided for? Where should they go to report these cases? How can we all work together with the appropriate public health authorities to ensure these cases are being properly tracked?
There are disease surveillance and reporting requirements established for medical professionals through a system established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and administered by the state and local health departments. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and the Wayne County Department of Health, Veterans and Community Wellness administer the disease reporting network. Residents should report any illnesses as a result of the water to the Detroit Health Department or Wayne County Department of Health, Veterans and Community Wellness.
Detroit Health Department City of Detroit
3245 East Jefferson Avenue, Suite 100
Detroit, Michigan 48207
Telephone: 313-876-4000
Wayne County Disease Control and Surveillance
33030 Van Born
Wayne, Michigan 48184
Telephone: 734-727-7078
The MDHHS and city of Detroit are working together to ensure that any reports are followed up on at both the state and local level, including the reports that your office forwarded to Governor Snyder’s office. Outside of the names your office provided, the MDHHS and Detroit Health Department have received no other complaints or reports of illnesses associated with the water.
Please encourage any of your constituents who may be suffering from an illness that they believe is connected to water quality to contact their local health department right away so that the county and state can follow up with them.
7. Many residents are wondering if they need to be drinking bottled water because of the current situation. GLWA has indicated that this is not necessary at the moment, but many of my constituents are receiving mixed messages on this issue. Please provide specific information as to why bottled water is or is not needed at this time to help clarify the situation.
We are unaware of any indication of contamination that would warrant the use of bottled water. A review of the spreadsheets providing the results of widespread monitoring conducted by the GLWA in response to this event reveals they did not have any unacceptable results for total coliform, E. coli, chlorine residuals, volatile organic chemicals, etc. Furthermore, the chlorine levels measured throughout the distribution systems in the communities where these complaints originated reveal no significant decrease from what is normally present. If a significant source of contamination had entered the piping network, a drop in the level of disinfectant would be expected. It is this very trait of providing preventative, public health protection that is the basis for public water systems to maintain a measureable amount of chlorine throughout their underground piping system.
Although it is often difficult to be sure the testing that has been conducted is sufficient to identify all possible contaminants, we are satisfied that the rapid identification of the source of these complaints, along with the measures employed by the GLWA to mitigate the consequences of this incident (isolation of the basin, treatment with powdered activated carbon, etc.), provides a high degree of confidence that the monitoring was appropriate to identify any affiliated public health threat.
8. Whose responsibility is it to notify the public in the instance that the water in a local community is found to be unsafe to drink? Is there a formal plan in place to work with impacted communities and their elected officials if there is a contamination of the water that could cause health issues?
Public water systems in Michigan are responsible for the proper operation and monitoring of their drinking water to demonstrate compliance with state and federal standards, as well as satisfying customer expectations for water quality that may surpass drinking water standards. They are obligated to conduct routine monitoring and periodic maintenance; to provide operational oversight under the supervision of properly certified, licensed water operators; and to report the results of these activities to the MDEQ for compliance assurance. When the drinking water is found to be unsafe to drink, the requirement to notify customers and the general public is specified in rule, often with specific timetables established and mandatory health effects language that must be included. The time frames and methods for distributing this information is based on whether the health threat is considered acute (notification within 24 to 48 hours through multimedia sources) or chronic (notification within 30 days [or more in some cases] through direct written communication with each customer). The MDEQ provides templates that may be used by the community to accomplish these mandatory public notices.
Part 23, Emergency Response Plans, of the administrative rules promulgated pursuant to the Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act, establishes the requirement for all community public water systems to prepare an Emergency Response Plan (ERP). This ERP must outline a program for the rapid correction of emergencies and shall include actions, procedures, and an identification of equipment that can lessen the impact of an emergency on the public health and safety and supply of drinking water systems. Some of the requirements for an ERP are identification of procedures to be implemented, such as emergency treatment measures in the event of contamination, and water sampling and monitoring plans to identify potential public health threats. The ERP must also provide internal and external communication procedures, including appropriate means for notification of customers affected by an emergency, a description of the precautions or measures to be taken to protect the public health of those customers, and a list of critical customers for whom a continuous supply of safe drinking water is most urgent. Communities are required to periodically update their ERP and have it approved by the MDEQ to ensure it addresses the required elements.
Thank you for your interest in assuring safe drinking water for the residents of Southeast Michigan. If you have questions, please contact Mr. Bryce Feighner, Division Director, Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance Division, at 517-284-6544; 
Sincerely,
C. Heidi Grether Director
517-284-6700
Enclosure
cc/enc: Governor Rick Snyder
Senator Ian Conyers
Senator Hoon-Yung Hopgood
Senator Coleman Young II
Representative Darrin Camilleri
Representative Cara Clemente
Representative Erika Geiss
Representative Frank Liberati
Mayor Jonathan Dropiewski, City of Flat Rock
Mayor James Garris, City of Gibraltar
Mayor Thomas Karnes, City of Lincoln Park
Mayor Joseph Kuspa, City of Southgate
Mayor William Matakas, City of Allen Park
Mayor Pat Odette, City of Woodhaven
Mayor Joseph Pederson, City of Wyandotte
Mayor Rick Sollars, City of Taylor
Mayor Kyle Stack, City of Trenton
Mayor Andrew Swift, City of Riverview
Mr. Andy Linko, Supervisor, Brownstown Township
Mr. Brian Loftus, Supervisor, Grosse Ile Township
Mr. Robert Kaplan, Acting Regional Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5
Ms. Sue McCormick, Chief Executive Officer, GLWA
Dr. Mouhanad Hammami, Director, Wayne County Department of Health, Veterans and Community Wellness
Mr. Jim Perry, Executive Director, Downriver Community Conference
Eden Wells, M.D., MPH, FACPM, Chief Medical Executive, MDHHS
Mr. Bill McBride, Governor’s Washington Office
Ms. Maggie Pallone, External Relations Deputy Director, MDEQ
Mr. Robert Wagner, Environment Deputy Director, MDEQ
Mr. Michael Shore, Director of Media Relations, MDEQ Mr. Bryce Feighner, MDEQ
Mr. Richard Benzie, MDEQ
