On July 10th, while driving by the Arbor Hills Landfill on Six Mile Road, following two days of rain, The Conservancy Initiative observed stormwater runoff being channeled down the massive landfill using a man-made rock riverbed designed for runoff. Foam was visible as the runoff cascaded down the hill and was easily observed from a moving vehicle. Something is not right here! What was causing the foam? Something must be getting in the stormwater runoff to cause the foam. Foam on waterways can be an indication of PFAS contamination. Pictures were forwarded to EGLE.
Fig 1 - Arbor Hills Landfill Stormwater Runoff viewed from Six Mile Road
Fig 2 - Arbor Hills Landfill Stormwater runoff - Is that Foam?
We traced the runoff into a Johnson Creek tributary, which runs along the southern border of the Northville Ridge subdivision. The tributary had spilled muddy water over its banks, and the landfill runoff flowed down a walking path in the subdivision. The Conservancy Initiative took a sample of the flowing creek. The stormwater runoff from the landfill is typically cloudy, turbid, and contains suspended solids, but the sample we collected was the worst we have ever observed. The sample contained so much erosion by-products or suspended solids that it looked like mud.
Fig 3 - Johnson Creek Tributary location
What is the Problem with Suspended Solids in the Creek?
Johnson Creek is the area’s only cold-water trout stream. Still, it is designated as an impaired water body because its Dissolved Oxygen (D.O.) levels do not meet water quality standards. D.O. is necessary in a water body to sustain aquatic life.
Fig 3 - Stormwater Runoff (muddy water) from Arbor Hills
Fig 4 - Stormwater runoff )muddy water) from Arbor Hills
EGLE has studied Johnson Creek and has developed a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for Johnson Creek. The TMDL calculates the maximum amount of a pollutant allowed to enter a water body so that the water body will meet and continue to meet water quality standards. A TMDL determines a pollutant reduction target. The TMDL developed for Johnson Creek determined:
The pollutant of concern for Dissolved Oxygen in Johnson Creek is suspended solids…
… the existing suspended solids load … must be reduced by 85% to achieve the Dissolve Oxygen standard.
The stormwater runoff from the Arbor Hills Landfill is negatively impacting Johnson Creek. The stormwater runoff not only contains high levels of suspended solids (i.e. mud, sediment), but it also contains PFOS concentrations above allowable limits. GFL and EGLE are aware of these issues, but little has been done. The Conservancy Initiative has advocated for periodic sampling and analysis of the stormwater discharges, which have been ignored by both GFL and EGLE.
They say a picture is worth 1,000 words. Let’s see if these disturbing pictures will motivate a response.