EWG's drinking water quality report shows
results of tests conducted by the water utility and provided to the Environmental Working Group by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, as well as
information from the U.S. EPA Enforcement and Compliance History database (ECHO). For the latest quarter assessed by the U.S. EPA (January 2019 - March 2019), tap water provided by this water utility was in compliance with federal health-based drinking water standards.
Utility Details
Genesee County, Michigan
Serves: 260
Data available: 2012—2017
Source: Groundwater
Contaminants Detected
1
EXCEED EWG HEALTH GUIDELINES
1 Total Contaminants
Legal does not necessarily equal safe. Getting a passing grade from the federal government does not mean the water meets the latest health guidelines.
Legal limits for contaminants in tap water have not been updated in almost 20 years.
The best way to ensure clean tap water is to keep pollution out of source water in the first place.
EWG Health Guidelines fill the gap in outdated government standards.
The federal government’s legal limits are not health-protective. The EPA has not set a new tap water standard in almost 20 years, and some standards are more than 40 years old.
Radium is a radioactive element that causes bone cancer and other cancers. It can occur naturally in groundwater, and oil and gas extraction activities such as hydraulic fracturing can elevate concentrations.
Radium, combined (-226 & -228) was found at 8 times above EWG's Health Guideline.
EWG Health Guideline
0.05 pCi/L or less
This Utility
0.4 pCi/L
Legal Limit
5 pCi/L
National Average
0.47 pCi/L
State Average
0.91 pCi/L
The state and national averages were calculated using the averages of the contaminant measurements for each utility in 2012-2017. pCi/L = picocuries per liter
Health Risks
EWG applied the health guideline of 0.05 pCi/L, defined by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment as a public health goal for radium-226, to radium-226 and radium-228 combined. This health guideline protects against cancer.
Includes chemicals detected in 2015-2017 for which annual utility averages exceeded an EWG-selected health guideline established by a federal or state public health authority; radiological contaminants detected between 2012 and 2017.
Includes .
Other Contaminants Tested
✕
Contaminants detected between 2012 and 2014 and were not part of EPA's UCMR-3 testing program or radiologicals:
One of the best ways to push for cleaner water is to hold accountable the elected officials who have a say in water quality – from city hall and the state legislature to Congress all the way to the Oval Office – by asking questions and demanding answers.
