BELMONT, Mich. - A Belmont family has worried for months about PFAS pollution in their well water.
Now they say it is worse and they don’t even have any well water to worry about.
“Our well went out on October 28,” explains Terry Hula. “Living without water is a lot harder than you think. Emotionally it has been very draining.”
Because they live next to the old Wolverine World Wide dump on House Street and the aquifer under their property is polluted with PFAS chemicals, the Hulas cannot get a permit to drill a replacement well.
“They only allow a variance for a new well in an existing home if you can dig into a clean aquifer,” says Hula. “We share a border with the Wolverine dump. That means we don’t have a clean aquifer, so a well is not going to happen.”
Tom Hula fills a 55-gallon tank at work and brings it home to help the family endure the water crisis.
“This is how much water it takes to flush,” he says, pointing to a bucket of water.
“Three gallons,” says Terry. “Bucket flushing is something I never thought I would have to learn to do but have gotten pretty good at it.”
The Hulas say state and county government is promising a solution to the problem. They just aren’t specific on the timetable.
“They are saying they do have a solution by bringing in a large tank and putting it in the yard and hooking It up and filing it on a regular basis,” says Terry. “But we don’t have a timeline on that, so we are anxiously waiting. Just get us water by Thanksgiving. I need water by Thanksgiving.”
“We have people coming for Thanksgiving,” says Tom.
Wolverine World Wide paid for water filters on the residential wells near their polluted property in Belmont, but there apparently was no plan in place if one of the wells failed. A portable, refillable tank to restore running water to properties without a working well could be a short-term solution until the Plainfield Township municipal water supply is extended and homes in the contamination area can connect.
“The solution to our home is municipal water,” says Terry.
“I’m assuming its coming eventually,” adds Tom. “But for us, we have run out of time.”
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