Disinfection System Failure Results in Wastewater Discharge into Kalamazoo River, Advisory Issued

The Kalamazoo River used to be a river that was used by residents, families, visitors, and even animals to fish, enjoy a swim, or simply just enjoy nature by a body of water, Either way, the simplicity and joy we all once found in the Kalamazoo river has since slowly been drained from us as we have had to deal with a number of issues related to the river and its water quality.

We are used to Graphic Packaging being in the thick of the issue as many have called for the city to file a lawsuit against them for their chemical dumping and once again they are back at the center of a Kalamazoo River Water Quality issue. As there was a system failure earlier this week that has the city advising those in the area to steer clear of the river.

The City of Kalamazoo has many different processes that have to occur when disinfecting wastewater that will make its way into the Kalamazoo River and the groundwater. A lot of these processes are run through automated systems that will sometimes fail just like any other technology. This occurred this week and the City of Kalamazoo is already testing the water levels for the next steps.

The Kalamazoo River between Patterson St and D Ave is considered to be affected as one of the disinfection feed systems failed at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, causing water contamination. The current regulations require that all processes be completed or the wastewater is in violation of the standards as it is partially treated.

The section of the Kalamazoo River between Patterson St and D Ave (and probably other parts for your safety) is under an advisory as the City of Kalamazoo has asked everyone to refrain from interacting with the river in this area. They will be testing the river over the next few days but it takes 24 hours for the lab to process so the first sample was taken on Friday the 14th and the first results will be ready Saturday, July 15th.