Muskegon County, Michigan: drinking water report. Muskegon County on Michigan's Lake Michigan shore has about 175,000 residents.
Muskegon County on Michigan's Lake Michigan shore has about 175,000 residents. The City of Muskegon draws from Muskegon Lake and Lake Michigan, while surrounding communities use groundwater. The county's industrial past includes foundries, chemical manufacturing, and paper mills that operated along the Muskegon River and Muskegon Lake for over a century.
Muskegon Lake was designated an Area of Concern under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement due to contamination from industrial discharges. According to Michigan EGLE's 2024 assessment, legacy contamination from Teledyne Continental Motors, Zephyr Oil, and other facilities includes heavy metals, PCBs, and petroleum compounds in lake sediments. Remediation efforts have improved conditions, but fish consumption advisories remain.
The Muskegon County Airport has documented AFFF use, and Michigan EGLE's 2024 PFAS investigation found PFOS at 13 ppt in monitoring wells near the facility. A 2024 study by Grand Valley State University's Annis Water Resources Institute detected PFAS in Muskegon Lake water at 8 ppt – likely from both airport and industrial sources.
Muskegon County's water quality varies significantly by source. Lake Michigan supply is generally higher quality than Muskegon Lake-sourced water, and both are better characterized than private wells near industrial areas where groundwater contamination is concentrated.
Check your water for current results at your address. For industrial legacy contaminants and PFAS, reverse osmosis at the kitchen tap provides the broadest protection. Our water filter guide evaluates systems for Great Lakes communities. Pull your detailed report for historical data, and visit our Michigan page for statewide patterns.