HOLLAND TWP., MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – A Lakeshore community’s water exceeds new statewide limits on lead in its drinking water, but alarm bells shouldn’t be ringing right now.
According to a report in the “Flint Journal” over the weekend by reporter Ron Fonger, 13 public water systems in Michigan had 90th percentile lead levels ranging from 13 to 45 parts per billion, which is above the 12 ppb safe maximum level established through new state rules put into place this past June.
One of those water systems listed in the story was Holland Township Consolidated at 13 ppb, but as Tom VanderKlok, director of the township’s public works department, the findings came through ground water samples that exceeded the six-hour stagnation time. “We’ve been very blessed that our system is not very old,” he told WHTC News. “We have no lead pipes at all in our system, and any lead that does show up comes from household fixtures that had lead solder used to connect their pipes. Since most of our pipes were put down when our housing boom began in the early 70’s, we don’t have the lead pipes that older systems have had to deal with.
“We should get a better handle on this when our system is tested again in 2019. Since we’ve had no major water quality violations, we are on a three-year schedule. We’re confident that we’re going to meet the new state standard (which takes effect in 2025), and this new level is going to cause everybody to be more aware of how much lead is in their water systems.”
The current federal threshold is at 15 ppb, and the new stricter state level is an offshoot of the Flint Water Crisis. In the report, both the Holland and Zeeland BPW had a 0 ppb result, as well as Hudsonville and Fennville; Georgetown Township was at 3 and Park Township was at 5 ppb.
