Johnson Creek is a Jewel in Northville Township and must be protected.
The Conservancy Initiative is focused on accelerating the actions at the Arbor Hills landfill to remediate the PFAS contamination, end PFAS[1] discharges into Johnson Creek, and require monitoring (testing) of all discharges into the creek. It has been over two years since The Conservancy Initiative learned the landfill has been continuously discharging PFOS into Johnson Creek but has been unable to persuade EGLE to require periodic (monthly) monitoring of the landfill’s stormwater discharges into the creek. On May 22, 2023, The Conservancy Initiative lost our patience and obtained a sample from the unnamed tributary to Johnson Creek that the Arbor Hills Landfill uses to discharge both its stormwater runoff.
We found PFOS concentrations of 49 ng/l, over 4 times the Michigan water quality standards of 12 ng/l for surface water (test report). In addition to this test, a study published by the Ecology Center found alarming levels of PFOS in a Creek Chad caught in Johnson Creek at the Fish Hatchery Park near downtown Northville. Arbor Hills Landfill is the most likely source of the PFOS found in the creek and the fish sample.
Sample Location
The tributary appears to originate at the landfill’s stormwater pond. We sampled ~2,500 ft downstream.
Our sampling location was approximately 2,500 ft downstream from the landfill’s stormwater discharge, just south of the walking path in the Northville Ridge Subdivision. The tributary appears to originate at the landfill and might be a historic man-made drain constructed as a drain for the landfill property. Weather conditions at the time the sample was taken were dry; we suspect little stormwater should have been discharging, but we do not have access to the landfill to verify the discharge rate.
Picture Perfect
Sample location
In April 2021, The Conservancy Initiative discovered through a FOIA request that testing existed showing the stormwater runoff at the Arbor Hills Landfill was contaminated with PFOS. The results were reported to EGLE and a violation notice was issued to Green for Life in June 2021. The violation notice promises an Administrative Consent Order (ACO) with Arbor Hills for correcting the issues but as of June 2023, the ACO negotiations have not begun.
Since December 2021, The Conservancy Initiative has consistently urged EGLE to require the Arbor Hills Landfill to periodically (monthly) monitor the stormwater discharge from the site. The first step towards correcting the problem is measuring it. The Conservancy Initiative suspects there may be unplanned small releases of leachate that could impact the stormwater runoff. A periodic monitoring program would detect these releases.
The Conservancy Initiative will continue our sampling of the Johnson Creek tributary until a formal monitoring program is established by Green of Life at the landfill. We will continue to work with EGLE and community leaders to expedite the PFAS remediation efforts. We will provide updates as more data and news becomes available.
What can I do?
Stay tuned. We hope to announce ways for the public to get involved very soon.
[1] The PFAS acronym refers to a large family of chemicals, Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances which are man-made chemicals that includes PFOA, PFOS, GenX, and many other chemicals. The predominant PFAS contamination found at Arbor Hills is PFOS or Perfluorooctane sulfonate, which is regulated in Michigan as a water contaminant.