PFAS Remediation Water Extension Project

For information on the Hillsboro Avenue Area of Interest, visit the associated MPART site.

Burger/Goodwood Water Extension Project

Construction is underway! This is an exciting time for the neighborhood as the new water main installation begins, but construction can be frustrating as well. The project engineers, Prein & Newhof, keep a frequently updated webpage for the project, which can be found here: www.preinnewhof.com/construction_projects/cascade-goodwood. In addition, the Township will continue to send out periodic eblasts with updates and reminders, and keep this page up-to-date. Below, information on the project timeline will be updated every other week, in keeping with the Biweekly Project Update eBlast.

Jump down to: Upcoming Work - Traffic Updates - Restoration - Groundwater Restrictions - Plumbers & Connection Process - Previous Updates - Useful Links

Project Timeline- Updated 6.1.23

As with all construction projects, the project timeline can be altered by a host of things including weather, supply delays and other unforeseen circumstances that occur in the field. With that being said, below is the current expected schedule:

Burger Drive between Goodwood and Tanglewood (including bayou crossing):

Begin work in early April
Water main has been placed
Passed all testing and tied into the existing system.
Taps have been completed.

Cimarron between Tuscany and Burger:

Begin work in mid-April
Work expected to last for ~5 weeks
Water main has been placed
Passed all testing and tied into the existing system.
Taps have been completed.

Tripoli Drive between Tuscany and Burger, additionally Tripoli Court:

Begin work in mid-April
Work expected to last for ~6 weeks
Water main has been placed
Passed all testing and tied into the existing system.
Taps have been completed

Burger Drive between Tanglewood and west project limit (Westridge):

Begin work in early May
Work expected to last for ~6 weeks
Water main has been placed
Passed all testing and tied into the existing system.
Tap installation should be completed the week of 6/5/23.

Tuscany Drive between Burger and the cul-de-sac:

Begin work in mid-May
Work expected to last for ~8 weeks
Water main has been placed
Passed all pressure testing and is currently being chlorinated
Tap installation should begin the week of 6/5/23.

Tanglewood Drive between Burger and Thornapple River Drive:

Begin work in early-June
Work expected to last for ~10 weeks

Tricklewood between Brookhill Ct and 3564 Tricklewood:

Begin work in late-July
Work expected to last for ~7 weeks

Tricklewood Ct. between Tricklewood and cul-de-sac:

Begin work in mid-August
Work expected to last for ~3 weeks

Brookhills Ct between Tricklewood and cul-de-sac:

Begin work in mid-August
Work expected to last for ~3 weeks

Upcoming Work

Continue stubbing water services on Burger to the west project limits
Begin stubbing water services along Tuscany between Burger and the cul-de-sac.
Guardrail replacement by the Burger bayou on Friday, June 2nd
Once Tuscany is completed, watermain installation on Tanglewood will begin
Continued restorative efforts in completed areas.

Traffic Update

Lane reduction and daytime closures on Burger, between Tuscany and Tanglewood will remain in place until the guardrail is replaced and road reconstruction is completed. Anticipated completion is by the end of next week (the week of June 5th). We will continue to update you on our best estimates of when traffic may be disrupted by work on the project.

Restoration

Pavers are planning replacement of asphalt or concrete driveway aprons (whichever residents already had in place before the watermain project began) as stubbing is completed.
Residents should be aware that it may be up to a month before irrigation systems are repaired and restoration begins due to the scope of the project.
The contractor will be responsible for establishing grass growth but, for best results, residents are encouraged to regularly water the hydroseed and mow down any weeds that begin to grow.

Groundwater Restrictions

At the beginning of the Goodwood/Berger PFAS investigation, there was discussion that the township may adopt a Groundwater Use Ordinance, like the one adopted in Plainfield Township. Cascade Township does not currently intend to pass any type of Groundwater Use Ordinance because, unlike Plainfield, Cascade was able to secure enough grant funding from the state and federal government to cover the project without requiring the same magnitude of funding from the party at fault which the township identifies as the Gerald R Ford International Airport. Plainfield Township passed a Groundwater Use Ordinance as part of their agreement with Wolverine World Wide that provided for PFAS cleanup costs.

This means that Cascade Township will not be requiring residents to cap their wells or hook up to city water at this time. If the state were to require this type of ordinance in the future, the situation would become more complicated. Depending on the circumstances, the Township may be able to ask the GR Ford Airport to pay for well capping as part of remediation, but that depends on how many years down the line this legislation would be adopted and what it required.

There is already a portion of Cascade Township's ordinance that addresses required city water connections at residences where it is available:

§ 313-83. Public water connection required. [Amended 12-22-1993 by Ord. No. 18-1993; 6-13-2018 by Ord. No. 5-2018]

C. All existing single-family residential structures and multifamily residential structures, including such structures which are covered by an existing Special Assessment District for public water, shall be required to connect to available public water:
(1) When there is a major repair required of the private well, as determined by the Kent County Health Department.

Failure of a well would constitute a 'major repair', as determined by the health department, and would require connection to 'available public water', as defined earlier in the ordinance.

§ 313-82. Definitions. As used in this Part 6, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated: AVAILABLE PUBLIC WATER — Public water pipes located in a right-of-way, easement, highway, street, or public way which crosses, joins, or abuts upon the property and passing not more than 300 feet at the nearest point from a structure.

This means that if your property is closer than 300 ft from public water utilities, whether they were available prior to this project or were installed as a result of this project, and your well fails, you won't be allowed to drill a new well. In this circumstance you would have to move onto city water and there isn't any guarantee that government funding would be available at that time; this would put the monetary burden of connection to city water on the property.

Plumber List for Water Service Connections
Water service placement in areas located adjacent to existing water main is ongoing. Plumbing companies are also quoting connections for residents in Phase I. If you have not done so already, please reach out to one or both of the two pre-qualified plumbing companies about connecting to municipal water. The City of Grand Rapids has approved the following companies as plumbers for making the private service connections:

                McDonald Plumbing                                                      BRIK Plumbing
                Attn: Grace Thumser                                                      Attn: Kraig Keegstra
                (616) 698-6771                                                                  (616) 277-1561
                gthumser@mcdonaldplumbing.com                       kraig@brikplumbing.com

Here is the process that will be followed for connections:

The property owner can coordinate with one or both of the pre-approved plumbing companies and select the company that they feel most comfortable working at their house.
The plumbing company will provide Prein & Newhof (P&N) and the City of Grand Rapids with a property specific quotation form. This information will also be available to the property owner.
P&N will coordinate with the City of Grand Rapids to review the property specific quotation form and verify that it is in line with the costs received at the time of bidding.
Once verification of pricing is validated the plumbing company will be approved to complete the work.
The plumbing contractor will coordinate with both the City of Grand Rapids and Cascade Township for required inspections.
After completion of the work, the plumbing company must compile and submit all required paperwork to P&N and the City of Grand Rapids for review and payment.
The City of Grand Rapids will approve payments to be made directly to the plumbing company.

Please note that each connection is unique and there may be questions you have or issues specific to the connection at your home. Please discuss all those issues with your selected plumber and they will review with the project team to determine what is included in the project costs.

Project Contacts
A list of contacts for the project can be found on the left-hand side of the Prein & Newhof project page here: www.preinnewhof.com/construction_projects/cascade-goodwood.

If you don’t see your question/answer above, you can always reach out to the project email address at goodwoodwater@gmail.com.

Previous Updates

Project Update - 2.08.23
View the 2.08.23 project update for answers to common questions about connecting to the water system as well as information about keeping wells for irrigation and accessing clean water until the connections are made.

Project Timeline - 10.12.22
Due to circumstances outside of the Township’s control, the construction contractor for the Cascade PFAS Remediation Water Extension Project has indicated that construction on this project will now commence in spring of 2023. The Township is working with the City of Grand Rapids, project contractors, and project engineers to ensure this delay does not effect the agreed upon completion date of the project and that clean water is brought to the neighborhood as soon as possible. We will provide another update with more information as soon as one is available.

Project Timeline - 10.05.22
Water main connections are set to begin on 10.10.22. Check out our most updated project timeline for more information.

Visit the P&N Construction Update Page
In addition to this project page maintained by Cascade Township, Prein & Newhof is also maintaining a project page which will be updated regularly regarding weekly work schedules once the project begins.

September 7 & October 12, 2022 - Residential Connection FAQ Map outlining project phases

August 2, 2022 - Project update

June 10, 2022 - Update of the project schedule

May 31, 2022 - Update to the project plan

June 19, 2020 - EGLE update regarding residential well sampling

February 19, 2020 - Update #4 - Cascade Township Residential Drinking Water Well Sampling

November 15, 2019 - Update #3 - Cascade Township Residential Drinking Water Well Sampling

August 5, 2019 - Update # 2 - Cascade Township Residential Drinking Water Well Sampling

May 16, 2019 - Update #1 - Cascade Township Residential Drinking Water Well Sampling

March 12, 2019 - The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality conducted an evaluation of residential drinking wells for PFAS compounds in approximately 50 homes along the Trout Creek area east of the 36^th Street exits off I-96 and west of Tricklewood Drive. Residents previously sampled as part of the efforts by Gerald R. Ford International Airport or Lacks Industries were not resampled. Residents who provided independent PFAS results below 5 ppt were not contacted.

Register for future updates from MDEQ on the “Cascade Township Residential Wells Sampling and PFAS Analysis” listserv.

Full news release

September 26, 2018 - Airport Residential Well Testing Results Statement

June 29, 2018 - Kent County Health Department news release advising against the ingestion of foam on the Thornapple River. Sample set results can be viewed here.

June 15, 2018 - State of Michigan PFAS Health Advisory Level & Cleanup Criteria Report from GR Ford Airport's multi-step evaluation process to assess the protential presence of PFAS on airport property.

May 31, 2018 - Airport testing process details as they near the conclusion of the sample collection phase

April 19, 2018 - The Township learned of potential PFAS contamination caused by a fire-retardant material, known as the AFFF, at the airport, Cascade Charter Township hired Fleis & VandenBrink to test the two wells that serve Cascade Township Park, located at 3810 Thornapple River Dr. SE. Test results determined no amount of PFAS was detected in the wells that serve the park. See the summary of the report and the full report.

March 30, 2018 - Previous Township Manager Ben Swayze spoke with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and learned:

March 29 - The DEQ did not have confirmation of PFAS contamination in or around the Gerald R. Ford International Airport.
The DEQ formally asked the airport to conduct an investigation into the chemicals used in firefighting foam. This process included soil sampling and aquifer profiling in order to map out the potential for contamination.
The DEQ was the first contact for residents and could be reached at the Environmental Assistance Center at 800.662.9278. The DEQ did not advised residents to drink bottled water or to have their wells tested at that time.
Residents interested in the state’s response to PFAS in Northern Kent County can find more information here.

In partnership with the City of Grand Rapids, the Township applied for and was awarded a $5 million grant to begin the extension of municipal water service to the Trout Creek area, where drinking wells have been contaminated with PFAS. In addition, the state of Michigan has provided $1.65 million for the project. This funding ensures phase 1 of the project can begin in 2022. The Township and other project partners are pursuing funding for phase 2 of the project, which is expected to be completed in 2023.

PFAS – per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – are a group of human-made chemicals that have been manufactured and used since the 1940s. They are used in various industries, from fast food to cookware to firefighting, and are known for their repelling qualities. They have been linked to certain types of cancers and other health issues.

If you are interested in receiving email updates regarding the PFAS Remediation Water Extension Project, click here to subscribe to the PFAS e-news list.

Useful Links

  PFAS Grant Application

  PFAS Project Map

  Safe Water for Cascade - PFAS Community Forum Presentation

  PFAS Meeting - Letter to Residents

  Watermain Plans

  Community Meeting - Prepared Slides

February 3, 2022 Citizens Meeting Video Recording

PFAS Citizens Committee Agendas/Packets - This committee meets the first Thursday of each month at 4:00 p.m. at the Cascade Library Wisner Center (2870 Jacksmith Dr. SE).

State of Michigan PFAS Action Response Team

State of Michigan PFAS Action Response Team - Cascade Township

State of Michigan PFAS Action Response Team - Gerald R. Ford International Airport

PFAS Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) in Michigan

Michigan Science Advisory Workgroup Report