Blissfield, Morenci among Lenawee communities to issue drinking water letters to residents

Residents within Lenawee County communities including Blissfield and Morenci more than likely have been the recipient of letters from their local governments detailing recent information about their drinking water supplies.

Such letters have consisted of information regarding monitoring requirements and testing specifications that may have been invalidated due to issues with the sampling equipment or might not have been completed at all. In both cases, the letters stated customers were not required to boil their water or use an alternative water source.

Morenci residents would have received their letter dated Dec. 12, and Blissfield residents would have received their letter distributed Dec. 18.

“Even though this is not an emergency, as our customers, you have a right to know what happened and what we are doing to correct the situation,” Morenci’s drinking water said. A similar statement was made in Blissfield’s drinking water letter.

For Blissfield water customers, the village noted its regularity of testing the drinking water for turbidity or cloudiness, with results telling the village if it is effectively filtering the water supply. During a period from March 2, 2023, through March 4, several of the required turbidity samples were taken but were then invalidated due to “issues with the sampling equipment,” according to the village.

Turbidity has no health effects, the village said. However, it can interfere with disinfection and provide a medium for microbial growth. Turbidity also may increase the presence of disease-causing organisms, including bacteria, viruses and parasites which can cause symptoms such as nausea, cramps, diarrhea and associated headaches.

Because of malfunctioning equipment that samples the turbidity, and cleaning of the equipment during the water treatment plant’s operating hours, the village said it was unable to take enough valid water samples of turbidity during that period in March.

"Due to the equipment malfunctioning, several of the compliance samples had to be invalidated. This in turn caused the water plant to be in violation of a monitoring (reporting) requirement," Blissfield Village Administrator Danielle Gross, said in an email to The Daily Telegram.

“However, during this period of time, valid turbidity samples were collected continuously at other locations, and those records show that turbidity levels met water quality goals and requirements,” the drinking water letter said. “In order to prevent this issue in the future, cleaning of turbidimeter equipment will not be done while the plant is online. Additionally, the plant staff were retrained on turbidity monitoring requirements.”

More: Blissfield lifts boil-water advisory after tests determine no bacteriological contamination

Nora Kiefer, Blissfield’s water treatment plant supervisor, clarified with The Daily Telegram nothing was wrong with the water when the samples were taken in March. All bacterial samples that were taken tested negative for bacterial growth.

Data from local water testing results once received by the State of Michigan and reviewed by the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) Drinking Water Division, are made available to the public. It is a requirement of the state, Kiefer said, to alert customers if something regarding the processes of their public drinking water is not “normal.”

The published letters customers received, she said, are to let them know that “something was missed on the checklist.” Such drinking water letters are issued in accordance with the Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act.

On May 22, EGLE issued Blissfield a tier 3 public notice due to the monitoring violation. A tier 3 public notice, Gross said, requires the supplier to provide public notice no later than one year of the issued letter; in this case no later then May 22, 2024.

City Superintendent/Clerk Brad Moran provided some clarity on Morenci’s letter to water customers regarding the city’s monitoring of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The monitoring period in question was from Jan. 1, 2023, through Sept. 30.

PFAS samples were taken Sept. 15. After those samples were not accepted for compliance because quality control limits did not meet certain requirements, follow-up samples were collected Oct. 23 and those met specifications.

PFAS sampling is “very sensitive,” Moran said in the drinking water letter, and it is hypothesized that a sampling issue caused “the erroneous results.” Several variables can affect a test result.

Like Blissfield, Morenci’s water data was submitted to EGLE, and it was verified there was no threat to the quality of the water supply.

The testing, Moran said, including PFAS and other required assessments, was carried out as scheduled. The test control for the water did not meet the required acceptance criteria of 70-130%. A test control is a benchmark or a point of comparison for measurement. Controls remain unchanged or unaffected by other variables.

“It is crucial to emphasize that the water's appearance and results were within specifications, and there is no indication of any issues with the water quality,” Moran said.

The city-issued letter water customers in Morenci received was not meant to imply any concerns about the safety of the water over the past nine months or at present, Moran said.

“The data has been duly compiled and shared with EGLE, and our system has not experienced any failures,” he said.

More: 'Dedicated Morenci resident' appointed as city's new Department of Public Works supervisor

Over the past three years, significant improvements have been made to Morenci’s water system's treatment, testing, reporting and notification processes. The water system, which employs chlorine gas as a disinfectant, is monitored on a daily, weekly and monthly basis to ensure safety standards are met.

Recent and ongoing improvements, highlighted by Moran, include:

• Installation of a new chlorine pump in December 2022.

• Planned installation of a backup chlorine pump in January 2024.

• Replacement of filter media in all four water treatment plant filters in January 2024.

• New water lines on Locust and Salisbury streets by December 2024.

• Installation of new alarms in the wells to monitor water height.

• Painting of the water plant, both inside and out.

Nearly one week after alerting its residents and water customers of the PFAS testing results, Morenci faced a challenge with decreased water pressure due to a water main break on West Chestnut Street that resulted in the city issuing a boil-water advisory that lasted for a handful of days leading up to Christmas.

A contractor was performing work Dec. 19 in the city when a water main was inadvertently punctured, Moran said. The Department of Public Works (DPW) crew acted promptly, notified residents and attempted to isolate the affected water main.

Subscribe Now: For all the latest local developments, breaking news, and high school and college sports content.

“Despite their best efforts, some residents and businesses experienced a temporary loss of water,” Moran said. “Our priority was to safeguard the integrity of the water towers and repairs were swiftly executed within a two-hour timeframe, successfully restoring water pressure. In response to the reduced pressure, a precautionary boil advisory was issued, reflecting our commitment to the safety of our residents.”

Over the subsequent two days, bacteriological samples were collected and analyzed, Moran said, with results returning negative on both Dec. 19 and Dec. 20. The results were “promptly” communicated to EGLE, Moran added, alongside updates to residents, leading to the lifting of the boil advisory.

— Contact reporter Brad Heineman at bheineman@lenconnect.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: twitter.com/LenaweeHeineman.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Blissfield, Morenci issue drinking water letters to residents, customers