Ann Arbor's Water Treatment Plant on Sunset Road on Sept. 18, 2018.
ANN ARBOR, MI — Ann Arbor officials are assuring residents the city’s water is still safe to drink for now following a toxic chemical release into the Huron River, the city’s main drinking water source.
“There is no immediate threat to drinking water,” states the city’s new webpage with information about the discharge of cancer-causing hexavalent chromium by Tribar Manufacturing, a Wixom company with a history of polluting the river upstream of Ann Arbor with toxic chemicals such as PFAS.
“Although the closest drinking water intake is in Ann Arbor, the time-of-travel modeling indicates it would take the contaminant several weeks or more to make its way to the city’s water intakes,” the city stated about the new hexavalent chromium threat, echoing state officials. “The city will begin a more rigorous sample protocol within the next week due to the uncertainty in the travel time estimates.”
‘No contact’ with Huron River advised after toxic chemical release
Tribar notified state environmental regulators of the release on Monday, Aug. 1, after the company discovered it discharged several thousand gallons of liquid containing 5% hexavalent chromium into the sewer system. The company discovered it Monday, but it started as early as Saturday and officials believe much of it had already passed through the Wixom wastewater treatment plant, which is how it was discharged to the river.
Michigan’s state health and environmental regulatory departments are working with local officials to implement plans to address the situation and there’s also a police investigation, the Wixom Police Department confirmed.
Wixom police investigate factory that put chemicals into Huron River
Currently, there are no recreational limitations on the Huron River for canoe and kayak liveries or recreation in Ann Arbor, but officials are recommending all people and pets avoid contact with the river between North Wixom Road in Oakland County and Kensington Road in Livingston County.
That means don’t swim in, wade in, play in or drink water directly from the river, don’t water plants or lawns with it and don’t eat fish caught in that section of the river.
Hexavalent chromium is a known carcinogen that can cause a number of adverse health effects through ingestion, skin contact or inhalation, officials caution.
Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy announced Tuesday it was collecting river water samples from multiple areas downstream from the Wixom treatment plant, with test results expected in the coming days.
“In order to keep our community informed, the city will post all information, agency news releases and analytical test data related to this spill on this webpage and promote relevant updates via city community channels,” the city webpage states, encouraging residents to subscribe to updates.
Attempts to reach Tribar representatives by phone and email were unsuccessful.
Tribar needs to be shut down, Rebecca Esselman, director the Huron River Watershed Council, said Tuesday.
State Rep. Yousef Rabhi, D-Ann Arbor, issued a statement Wednesday calling Tribar a serial offender.
“This polluter cannot be allowed to continue endangering the lives and livelihoods of everyone who lives along the Huron River,” he said. “I urge EGLE and the attorney general to do everything in their power to shut Tribar down and to recover the costs of cleanup, economic damage and Ann Arbor’s additional municipal water treatment. Taxpayers and ratepayers should not be on the hook for corporate negligence. It’s time polluters pay to clean up their own messes.”
Right now the city is solely focused on making sure it has an appropriate technical response and ensuring the city’s water remains safe, said Brian Steglitz, Ann Arbor’s water plant manager and interim public services administrator.
“Once this event has passed, the city will be evaluating options for ensuring its water supply is adequately protected from future contamination events,” he said of what the city may like to see done with regard to enforcement, regulations and Tribar.
The city has no history of detections of hexavalent chromium in the water supply, whether in the raw river water or treated drinking water, Steglitz said.
“The city is increasing its monitoring in the Huron River so we are able to identify when and if the chromium plume reaches our intake,” he said. “We are also working with EGLE to identify means to optimize our treatment for chromium removal should it become necessary.”
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