The Sturgis Municipal Wells site is in the city of Sturgis and became a Superfund site in 1984 due to groundwater being contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The two local properties identified as likely sources were Kirsch Company Plant 1 and the former Wade Electric Property. Cleanup in the 1990s included addressing VOCs by extracting vapors from the soil at the Kirsch property, installing a pump-and-treat systems to treat groundwater, and limiting the use of, and access to, the site.
In late 2024, PFAS was sampled at both the Kirsch and Wade portions of the site. At the Kirsch Source Area, one well exceeded groundwater cleanup criteria at 42.2 ppt PFOA (compared to 8 ppt), and on the Wade Electric Source Area, one vertical aquifer sample exceeded criteria at 9 ppt PFOA and 87 ppt PFOS (compared to 16 ppt).
Groundwater flow varies due to the presence of extraction wells at the site, which extract groundwater and take it to a treatment system. Effluent sampling at the shallow groundwater treatment system was non-detect for PFAS.
