• Photo by Kayleigh Garrison

EAST LANSING - The East Lansing-Meridian Water and Sewer Authority distributes a little more than two billion gallons of water every year and over six million gallons a day to local residents, with a large sum of that water distributed to school districts.

In an exclusive feature story HOMTV wrote in April, which included behind the scenes footage of the water treatment plant, Maintenance Planner Joel Martinez said East Lansing and Meridian Township’s joint water treatment plant has “superior water quality, being that it’s softened and treated.”

Indeed.

On August 27, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) announced that East Lansing and Meridian Township’s water supply was free of manmade chemicals called per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). These tests were done as part of a statewide initiative to test the water supply in every school district.

The results of these tests indicated that the water supply in East Lansing and Meridian Township “was a NON-DETECT at the set detection limit of two parts per trillion (ppt).” While it is common to find low levels of PFAS in drinking water, East Lansing and Meridian Township’s water supply is in the clear.

Clyde Dugan, who is the manager of the East Lansing-Meridian Water and Sewer Authority, said the water treatment plant tests its water daily and allocates a portion of its operating budget to ensure that equipment is maintained, cleaned and runs successfully "so that we’re always capable of putting out safe drinking water to the communities."