April 6, 2005

The Department of Environmental Quality has authorized $1,000,000 to design and construct a groundwater treatment system to address groundwater contamination in the village of Tekonsha, in Calhoun County.

The DEQ and private parties have already conducted a series of investigations to estimate the nature and extent of soil and groundwater contamination within the village, resulting in the identification of four distinct areas of groundwater contamination.

The DEQ will use the money to conduct a detailed feasibility study to evaluate appropriate treatment options for the site. Based on this study, a groundwater treatment system will be designed and constructed to reduce the health risks to residents and to protect the environment.

Concentrations of trichloroethylene (TCE) in soil have been identified at up to 340 times the drinking water protection criteria, and in groundwater at 2,800 times the drinking water criteria. TCE has also been detected in a storm sewer that discharges to the St. Joseph River.

Construction of a municipal water supply has been completed and provided to residences within the impacted areas, but contaminant concentrations at the leading edge of the contamination are increasing and may threaten additional residential drinking water wells. Ingestion of TCE has been linked to liver and kidney damage, impaired immune system function, and impaired fetal development in pregnant women.

Editor’s note: DEQ news releases are available on the department’s Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

Revised April 6, 2005 by Pat Watson