In our ongoing commitment to provide residents confidence in their drinking water, Wolverine Worldwide has made the decision to extend its filtration program to residents in the MDEQ-defined Rogue River, Wolven Northeast, and North Childsdale Study Areas. While sources are still being identified, we remain committed to the community and to doing what we believe to be the right thing for our friends, family and neighbors.
On January 10, 2018, the State of Michigan adopted a drinking water criterion of 70 ppt combined for PFOA and PFOS, which set an official standard for acceptable concentrations of these substances in groundwater used for drinking water purposes. This is the same conservative level adopted by the EPA in May 2016, which includes a significant safety buffer and assumes continued exposure over an entire 70-year lifetime.
As a result of the state’s new criterion of 70 ppt for PFOA/PFOS, Wolverine has changed its water filtration program in the study areas, including the Rogue River, Wolven Northeast, and North Childsdale Study Areas, as follows:
- Residents who have received confirmed results with a combined detection over 70 ppt for PFOA/PFOS are eligible to receive a whole house filter. Eligible residents will be contacted by Culligan to arrange for installation. These systems use dual canister granular activated carbon adsorption, and retesting from over 500 systems installed locally has demonstrated that they effectively remove PFOA, PFOS, and other PFAS, while at the same time ensuring that these substances are not returned to the environment. Post-installation sampling and filter replacement for whole house filters is being conducted at Wolverine’s expense while additional data is collected.
- Residents who have received confirmed results with a detection of PFOA or PFOS, but at a combined level that does not exceed 70 ppt, are eligible to receive a point-of-use filter for their kitchen sink. These systems are simple to operate, certified for the removal of PFOA/PFOS, and Wolverine has successfully installed over 100 of them in area homes. Filter replacement for point-of-use filters is being conducted at Wolverine’s expense while additional data is collected.
Even though the State has determined that 70 ppt of PFOA/PFOS is an acceptable level in drinking water, Wolverine is offering point-of-use filters to residents with lower concentrations because we are committed to providing residents confidence in their drinking water, and to doing what we believe to be the right thing for our friends, family and neighbors.
We started this blog to speak directly to the community and to help keep the facts straight, and we intend to do just that. Any residents with questions are encouraged to contact Wolverine directly at (616) 866-5627 or HouseStreet@wwwinc.com.
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