Grayling Charter Township to receive public input on proposed water system project

Grayling Charter Township continues to work on a proposal to extend a municipal water system at Four Mile Road to residents with well water contaminated with PFAS, and copies of the plan are now available at Grayling Township Hall (2090 Viking Way).

“A major project has been proposed to expand the existing Beaver Creek Grayling Township Utility Authority water distribution system in Beaver Creek and Grayling townships. This service area includes Kirtland Community College, AJD Forest Products, and the Arauco industrial site,” according to the 2023 Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Project Plan from architecture and engineering company C2AE. “The township is also pursuing funding from the Department of Defense due to the relation of the project to Camp Grayling.”

The plan cites PFAS contamination at military sites through use and storage of aqueous film forming foam.

“There is no current municipal water supply within Grayling Township servicing the area contaminated by PFAS. Users in this area have individual wells and septic systems. The direct impacts due to PFAS contamination in the groundwater make it necessary to find a new water source for the township. There are four distinct areas that have been impacted, two near the (Grayling Army Airfield) and two on the shores of Lake Margrethe. Without water supply replacement, the individual wells the users are drawing from will be further contaminated by PFAS, increasing the number of citizens impacted by high PFAS levels,” according to the Project Plan.

The plan also lists expansion of the City of Grayling municipal water system as a way to help bring safe water to affected residents, but says the “expansion of the Beaver Creek Grayling Township Utility Authority’s water system is the selected alternative.”

According to the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, “Michigan’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program is designed to assist water suppliers in satisfying the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act by offering low-interest loans (for 20, 30, or 40-year loans) to eligible water suppliers. The submittal deadline for final project planning documents for (Drinking Water State Revolving Fund) fiscal year 2024 projects is June 1, 2023.”

A representative from C2AE – during a regular meeting of the Grayling Charter Township Board of Trustees on Wednesday, May 17, – said the timeline for the project could include bids in the spring of 2024, construction during the summer of 2024, and completion by the end of 2025.

Lacey Stephan III, Grayling Charter Township Supervisor, said residents would not be forced to connect to the municipal water source if it’s constructed, and it would not include sewer service.

The township board voted to have a special meeting and public hearing regarding the 2023 Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Project Plan on Tuesday, May 30, at 5 p.m. at Grayling Township Hall. According to the township, written public comment can be sent to: Clerk’s Office, 2090 Viking Way, PO Box 521, Grayling, MI 49738.

Stephan said the Beaver Creek Grayling Township Utility Authority – a five-member board – would eventually take over the endeavor.

According to the township’s public hearing notice, “The estimated cost to users for the proposed project will be approximately $69,135,000 total with individual user costs dependent on the level and type of project financing that can be secured by the township for the project. The township intends to pursue financing with the goal of minimizing impact to system users.”