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Pontiac Lake State Recreation Area (Waterford, Oakland County)

Pontiac Lake State Recreation Area (Waterford, Oakland County)

Disclaimer
Web content may not routinely be updated on this page. Please contact the Site Lead for the most up-to-date status of the site.
Content posted September 2021.

EGLE Site Lead

Kevin Wojciechowski, WojciechowskiK@Michigan.gov or 586-623-2948. 

Background

Pontiac Lake State Recreation Area operated is located at 7800 Gale Road.  On January 10, 2014, a twin-engine Cessna 310 plane owned by Royal Air crashed in a wooded area at this site just north of the boat launch and south of the beach area.  The plane caught fire and approximately 85 gallons of Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) was used.

Groundwater flow is unknown in the recreation area, however, the airport property adjacent to the east has a shallow groundwater flow to the south-southeast.

Pontiac Lake State Recreation Area map

Recent Accomplishments

  • In July 2021, EGLE collected groundwater samples from eight different locations near the crash site.
  • In August 2021, EGLE received the sampling results showing two monitoring wells exceeded criteria, the highest of which was 7,200 ppt PFOS.

Next Steps

  • EGLE will draft a compliance communication to Royal Air Freight notifying them of their Part 201 obligation to delineate and clean up the contamination.

Residential Well/Alternate Water

  • EGLE and MDHHS have been working together to identify and sample drinking water wells in the area.
  • Waterford Township does have city water pipes located along most, if not all the residential roads north of the airport.  Most homes in the area are already connected to city water.

Upcoming Community Engagement

  • On September 21, 2021, at 6:00pm, MPART will host a virtual town hall meeting to discuss the current results of the PFAS investigation. 
  • For information on how to join the town hall visit the MPART public calendar at: Michigan.gov/MPARTEvents.

Sampling Results Summary

Type of Sample

Date Sampled (or Range)

Number of Sample Results Received

Number of Samples above Criteria*

Groundwater Monitoring Wells

 July 19 - 20, 2021 8 2
*Groundwater monitoring well results are compared to EGLE Part 201 criteria for 7 PFAS compounds effective 12/21/2020:  PFOS (16 ppt), PFOA (8 ppt), PFNA (6 ppt), PFHxS (51 ppt), PFHxA (400,000 ppt), PFBS (420 ppt), and HFPO-DA (370 ppt).

Sampling Notes