In 2022, six anglers from the Friends of the Rouge agreed to collect fish for PFAS testing. These anglers used a hook and line at 15 locations in the Rouge, Huron, and Detroit Rivers to collect one hundred fish as part of a partnership with the Ecology Center to test whole fish for these forever chemicals. The results of their study are alarming, all the fish tested contained PFAS. 9 fish tested from the Rouge River Watershed (includes Northville and Johnson Creek) contained between 11 to 59 parts per billion PFAS. Most alarming for the Northville community was a Creek Chub harvested from Johnson Creek, in the area of the historic fish hatchery, containing 38 parts per billion PFAS.
Johnson Creek is the area’s only cold-water trout stream and is an environmental jewel that winds through Salem Township, Plymouth Township, Northville Township, and right through downtown Northville before entering the Rouge River. There are very few industrial sites other than the Arbor Hills Landfill which can impact Johnson Creek.
The Conservancy Initiative thanks the Friends of the Rouge, the Ecology Center, and the volunteer anglers. We support the recommendations of the study to ban PFAS-containing products where possible and hold polluters financially responsible for PFAS mitigation. The Conservancy Initiative will publish specific recommended actions for EGLE and our elected leaders to address the PFAS concerns at Arbor Hills and the impact to Johnson Creek.
You can access the PFAS in fish study from either the Friends of the Rouge or the Ecology Center Websites.