Cedar Springs Water Woes: High Arsenic Levels, City Takes Proactive Steps

The City of Grand Rapids spent the majority of the week under a Boil Advisory after a water main break caused critical system failures that could have dumped dangerous bacteria into the water. Thankfully due to the diligence of the city, normal service was returned on Wednesday just before noon.

But, there's another West Michigan city that is seeing water related issues that isn't getting as much attention.

According to a facebook post from the city of Cedar Springs, there's a dangerous chemical that has been found in higher than allowed amounts, only residents haven't been asked to take action or to change their consumption habits.

During recent water tests, the city noticed that the level of arsenic in the city's drinking water was just above the "acceptable" level. Don't panic, however- they say that this isn't an emergency on the scale that Grand Rapids experienced.

Their tests showed that the arsenic levels in the water were 11 parts per million, which is just above the safe standard of 10 parts per million. At this time, no action is required for residents, but the city wanted to be transparent with residents because they feel they 'have the right to know', which is comforting.

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The city said the well they were testing was set to be repaired/replaced later this month, but they've gone ahead and taken it out of the water supply early to avoid any further contamination to the rest of the city's water resource.

Why are high levels of arsenic in the water dangerous?

Arsenic can commonly get into well water due to the deposits in the dirt and on rocks that are sometimes absorbed. If this happens, it could be dangerous over a long period of time.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) long term exposure to arsenic in drinking water can cause liver problems as well as skin cancer. It can also be a cause of diabetes.

While the people of Cedar Springs aren't in danger of the above, it's still important to be careful about what you're drinking. If you're concerned, you can always get a high end water filter to help break some of those contaminates down even further.