Free Michigan water report: PFAS & lead levels for every water system, worst-affected cities, and EPA violations. Check your ZIP.
Michigan's drinking water serves approximately 10 million residents in a state defined by water. Bordered by four of the five Great Lakes, Michigan has more freshwater coastline than any other state and sits atop vast groundwater resources. Despite this abundance, the state has been at the center of some of the most significant drinking water crises in modern American history. Public water systems draw from the Great Lakes, inland lakes, rivers, and groundwater, while roughly 1.1 million households rely on private wells. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) regulates about 11,000 public water systems. Detroit's system, operated by the Great Lakes Water Authority, is one of the largest in the country, serving over 3 million people in the metro area with Lake Huron water.
Michigan's water quality story is dominated by two names: Flint and 3M.
Michigan has some of the most extensive PFAS contamination – and some of the most aggressive PFAS regulation – of any state in the country.
The Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda, closed in 1993, is among the most contaminated former military sites in the US. Decades of AFFF use left PFAS plumes extending from the base into the Au Sable River and into residential wells. PFOS levels exceeding 10,000 ppt have been recorded in on-base groundwater. Despite the base closing over 30 years ago, PFAS contamination persists and continues to migrate.
The Wolverine World Wide shoe company contamination in Rockford and Belmont (Kent County) represents one of the worst industrial PFAS cases nationally. The company dumped waste containing 3M's Scotchgard chemicals (PFOS-based) at a tannery waste disposal site for decades. The contamination spread through groundwater, affecting hundreds of private wells. House Well Survey data showed PFAS concentrations exceeding 1,000 ppt in numerous residential wells.
Michigan adopted PFAS MCLs for seven compounds in 2020 – among the most comprehensive state standards in the nation. The limits include: PFOS at 16 ppt, PFOA at 8 ppt, PFNA at 6 ppt, PFHxS at 51 ppt, PFHxA at 400,000 ppt, PFBS at 420 ppt, and GenX at 370 ppt. EGLE's PFAS Action Response Team (PART) has investigated over 200 sites across the state.
Michigan is one of the top three states nationally for PFAS regulatory action, alongside New Jersey and Massachusetts. The state's combination of severe contamination sites, aggressive testing, and strict standards makes it both a case study in the scope of the PFAS problem and a model for how states can respond.
The Flint water crisis – while primarily a lead contamination event – shaped Michigan's posture on drinking water safety more broadly. The 2014-2019 crisis, in which the city's water source was switched to the corrosive Flint River without proper treatment, caused lead to leach from pipes into the drinking water of roughly 100,000 residents. The crisis led to federal charges against state officials, massive infrastructure investment, and a fundamental rethinking of how Michigan manages water system oversight.
Among Great Lakes states, Michigan faces the most documented PFAS contamination. Wisconsin has emerging sites, Ohio has industrial contamination around Dayton and Columbus, and Indiana has manufacturing-related detections. But Michigan's combination of military bases, 3M industrial waste, and comprehensive testing has produced the largest dataset of confirmed contamination in the region.
Michigan's water quality varies enormously – from pristine Great Lakes intakes to severely contaminated groundwater zones.
1. Check your specific location at the homepage. Michigan has more publicly available PFAS data than most states, and we map it to your ZIP code. 2. If you are near a known contamination site (Oscoda/Wurtsmith, Rockford/Belmont, Parchment, or any of the 200+ EGLE investigation sites), verify your water source and whether it has been tested. EGLE's PFAS response page maintains an interactive map of investigation sites. 3. Private well owners in western Michigan, northern Lower Michigan, and near any former military installation should prioritize PFAS testing. EGLE offers guidance on testing and has facilitated testing programs in high-risk areas. 4. Review our water filter guide for certified treatment options. Given Michigan's strict standards, your utility is required to address PFAS above state MCLs, but individual well owners are responsible for their own treatment. A detailed water report provides historical data for your area.
Michigan's water history is a story of abundance, contamination, crisis, and – in some cases – recovery.
The Great Lakes have provided drinking water to Michigan communities since European settlement. Detroit's centralized water system dates to 1853, and the current intake in Lake Huron, connected to the city via a tunnel that runs beneath Lake St. Clair, is one of the engineering marvels of municipal water infrastructure. The system delivers water that is naturally soft and low in dissolved minerals – a quality advantage that most of the country's water systems cannot match.
The Flint crisis exposed systemic failures in water system governance. When the city switched from Detroit's water to the Flint River in April 2014 as a cost-cutting measure during state-appointed emergency management, corrosion control treatment was not applied. Within months, lead levels spiked. Despite complaints from residents – many of them in predominantly Black neighborhoods – state officials denied the problem for over a year. The eventual acknowledgment, federal emergency declaration, and legal proceedings changed how Michigan and the nation think about water system oversight. The state settled with Flint residents for $600 million in 2021.
The Wolverine World Wide contamination story began to emerge in 2017 when a local journalist and environmental activists connected waste disposal records to PFAS detections in wells near the company's former dump sites. The discovery triggered one of the largest residential well testing programs in state history and led to multiple lawsuits. 3M, as the manufacturer of the Scotchgard chemicals Wolverine used, was named in litigation that resulted in Michigan's landmark $850 million settlement with 3M subsidiary cases handled at the state level.
Wurtsmith AFB's contamination, while among the oldest known military PFAS sites, remains far from resolved. The Air Force has installed monitoring wells and treatment systems, but the contamination has reached the Au Sable River – one of Michigan's premier trout streams – and continues to pose risks to nearby communities.
Michigan's response infrastructure – particularly the EGLE PFAS Action Response Team – has become a model for other states. PART's systematic site investigation, public communication, and regulatory development have been studied by environmental agencies nationwide.
Check your address to see what Michigan's extensive monitoring data shows for your location. In a state with this much data, there is no reason not to know what is in your water.