The Hamburg Township Board of Trustees has unanimously approved sending a letter to the mayor of Wixom demanding the city take action to stop the ongoing contamination of the Huron River.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality last month confirmed that a Howell-based company’s Wixom location was the source of a class of polyfluoroalkyls, better known as PFAS, that are being discharged into Norton Creek, which feeds into the Huron River. PFAS are man-made chemicals found in a variety of common household products, construction materials, electronics and firefighting foam.

Tribar Manufacturing has been given until October 19th to come up with a detailed plan on how the contamination occurred and how it plans to prevent further discharges. But Hamburg officials say the delay is unacceptable, telling Wixom Mayor Richard Ziegler they want, “an immediate and total elimination” of the discharge into Norton Creek, and calling on him to “close the valve today!” The letter goes on to say that Hamburg Township has between eight and ten thousand residents living on, or along, the Huron River and its associated chain of lakes and that the range of emotions expressed by residents ranges “from abject disbelief and anger to fear for their health and the health of their families.”

The contamination of the Huron River has resulted in health advisories from state officials against eating the fish in the river or ingesting the foam from its waters. The Huron River Watershed Council, along with Milford, Milford Township and Wixom officials, will be hosting a public meeting tonight at 7pm at the Milford Civic Center regarding the contamination. (JK)