GREENLAND TOWNSHIP, MI— The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy has given the Department of Natural Resources another year to make an Ontonagon County water source safe for drinking.
The spigot on the Bill Nichols Rail-Trail has been used for decades for drinking water. Last year, EGLE said it couldn’t be considered safe unless the source was found. DNR officials found that a main connected to the spigot accessed a suspected artesian water resource underground. They believe it was first tapped by the surrounding community of Lake Mine during the area’s 19th-century copper mining heyday.
EGLE said the pipes were too old and deteriorated for continued use.
The DNR now plans to have a new well drilled closer to two homes connected to the water source and the roadside stop, but wants to avoid having to drill it before winter.
EGLE has granted a one-year extension.
