MONROE COUNTY, Mich. — Nearly 45 homes are set to be tested by the Monroe County Health Department on Tuesday as the cleanup continues in the wake of last week's diesel fuel spill that resulted in leakage contaminating the North Branch of the Ottawa River.
WTOL 11 confirmed with the county that the cause of the spill was due to a leak of a diesel tank underneath a Pilot gas station in Ottawa Lake.
"We are hand delivering letters to residents most likely impacted, if impacted at all," said MCHD Environmental Health Director Chris Westover. "We are letting residents know that water sampling is starting tomorrow (Tuesday)."
This process involves city officials collecting samples from an outside faucet, which means a homeowner does not need to be home. However, Westover did tell WTOL 11 that access inside a home would be necessary if any of the following three circumstances are present:
- The home does not have an outside faucet
- An outside faucet is connected to a separate water supply
- The water coming through the outside faucet is treated/filtered at the property prior to disposal, which will require a raw sample in this case
"The intention is to have most or all of these homes get collected by tomorrow," Westover said.
Ottawa Lake resident Greg McGough uses a reverse osmosis filtration system to purify the well water he uses for drinking.
He says that while his concern is not as significant as others, he's always going to be cautious.
"I'm moderately concerned," McGough said. "Anytime we have a spill or whatever ... they have the same risks of oil tankers going down (U.S.) 23."
McGough also says that until new data or safety protocols are available, the best way to protect yourself from drinking potentially dangerous water is to trust your own judgment.
"Pay attention to it," said McGough. "You'll notice right off the get-go if there's oil. If you pour a glass of water and let it sit, and if there's oil in your well, it'll accumulate to the top. You've got to protect yourself. No one is going to do it as well as you'll do it."
Westover told WTOL 11 that the MCHD aims to have lab results of the collected water samples by no later than Friday.