Michigan: We can’t afford to look for all PFAS. Homeowners on their own

By Chris Lamphere | Bridge Michigan | November 21, 2025

Read the full article by Chris Lamphere (Bridge Michigan)

"Investigators in Michigan and elsewhere find low-level contamination of “forever chemicals” virtually everywhere, but the state says it can’t always afford to figure out exactly how the chemicals get into the environment.

Take Cadillac, where the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team, or MPART, started an investigation in 2024 after PFAS — per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — were found in a private well at levels slightly above Michigan’s standard for safe consumption. Subsequent testing in the area has shown the presence of PFAS in many private wells at similarly low levels.

At this point, MPART is still testing to determine if a risk to human health exists from drinking groundwater in the area, but locating a source is no longer a priority, making Cadillac one of 38 so-called “orphan” PFAS sites around the state."