‘We need Lansing; we need help’: TR residents express frustrations about water quality, prices at community meeting

By Robert Tomlinson
News Director

THREE RIVERS — Laura Armstrong said she first noticed discoloration in Three Rivers water during hydrant flushing, continuing on even when flushing wasn’t going on.
Because of that, and the recent lead woes in Three Rivers, she said she hasn’t used her tap water in over a year, except to bathe and wash clothes, buying at least three 24-packs of bottled water a week, equaling up to over $500 a year, and even more per year for city water bills. But a recent trip to the doctor by a family member raised more concerns for her.
“Recently, one of my family members went to the doctor with skin issues. His doctor told him it was due to the water we use in Three Rivers,” Armstrong, a local nurse, said.
Armstrong also said she’s worried for the seniors and youth in the community who could be at greater risk for lead issues because of the water. She said the water in the city needs to be fixed, even if it takes the state stepping in to assist.
“We need Lansing; we need help for the safety of our family and our community,” Armstrong said. “Together, we can make it happen.”
Her story was one of many expressed at a community meeting held Monday night at The Huss Project in Three Rivers, focusing on water quality in the city, as well as frustrations about rising prices for the utility. The 30-minute meeting, described by organizer Michael Evans of the nonprofit organization With Many Hands as a “speak-out,” was attended by about 30 people, with some of them speaking about their situations.
“This is the first step in a series of community meetings,” Evans said. “Democracy only works when people feel comfortable working together, coming out in their local communities and actually feeling free to speak about what they care about the most. There’s very few opportunities for this, and we’re very happy to sponsor one of them.”
Water quality and water prices have been a consistent frustration and anger point for many residents in the city for years, even well before Aug. 3, when it was announced by the city that lead levels in water were above a state action level after six homes out of 47 had sampling results over 15 parts per billion of lead in their tap water.
City officials said back in August the action level is meant to measure effectiveness of corrosion control, and is not a health standard, but filter distribution has continued to take place in the city since August, allowing residents who meet certain requirements to get free faucet or pitcher filters. The city will also be collecting at least 40 samples every six months and review results to determine “if corrective actions are necessary to reduce corrosion in household plumbing.”
During the meeting, many in attendance expressed their concern about the negative health effects of lead in the water, a couple of people referencing the Flint Water Crisis with their statements. Maurice Kelley said he was concerned when her daughter’s face, arms and legs started having mysterious marks on it.
“I came to the conclusion to find out it’s the water. There’s something in the water. Somebody’s got to do something,” Kelley said, adding that he too has been paying for water he cannot drink. “They charge us $115 before you even get your bill. Say your bill is $89, plus the $115 on top of that, so you’re paying for that, then you have water you’ve got to buy. When I take a bath, I can’t fill the tub with bottled water. I end up spending all this money on water, so I’m paying twice for water that I can’t even drink.”
Gina Foster, another Three Rivers resident, said she was “shocked” when she heard about the lead situation, and said she could not get straight answers from the city as to why her water bills have gone up.
“This is not the first time we have had issues with our water in Three Rivers. We’ve had issues before, and I assume they had fixed it,” Foster said. “I was told our water bill went up $4, well I beg to differ, my water bill went up more than $4. I feel like if they’re not going to fix the water system, give us the option to opt out of city water and let us build our own wells. I’d rather pay for a well than pay for water that I can’t drink, bathe, or nothing in.”
Water and commodity prices were also a concern expressed by residents. One of them, Sandy Griffith, said her most recent water and sewer bill from the city was over $600 – $347.64 for sewer and $252.88 for water.
“Our bill went up to over $600, and it was never over $200; it’s been $179 for the last 15 years,” Griffith said. “The people won’t even return a call. They don’t answer the phone; I’ve called several times and all you get is an answering machine.”
Evans took a poll of those in the audience regarding meeting with officials from Lansing and/or the city. When asked if they would like an official to be invited to Three Rivers to attend a community meeting, nearly everyone raised their hand. When asked if they would consider taking a bus to Lansing to talk with officials, several people raised their hands with others saying they could make time to do so.
“We’re going to need to meet with city officials and talk about some kind of rebate or reduction in the recent increases in both water and sewer fees until we have a handle of the problem, and we have money from Lansing to help fix the system,” Evans said. “My commitment, my organization will be to at first contact folks in Lansing that are providing the grants to communities like Kalamazoo and St. Joe and other smaller towns along U.S. 12, and I’ll be in touch with you and will attempt to pull together a meeting of various city officials.”
Two city commissioners, at-large commissioners Torrey Brown and Lucas Allen, were also in attendance at Monday’s meeting. Both said that the city is doing their best to do what they can to help the water situation.
“I understand you guys’ concerns, because I have them also. I live on Portage [Avenue], right in the middle of town, and I’m going through the same thing you guys are going through,” Brown said. “We need you guys to voice your opinions, and also we need you to be educated on what we are doing. Part of the raise in the water is because we’re trying to test all of the pipes. That’s why the water rates are increased.”
Brown added that the city has applied for state grants to fund lead line replacement in the city. Allen said while filters are still available at DPS and the Health Department for those that qualify to receive one, he agreed that the city needed to do something, while also clarifying that the recent rate increases were on the base rate for water.
“We all know that [the water is] bad … I used to live down here, and believe me, I know,” Allen said. “If you need anything, let me know, because I like to get in the middle of things and help you all out.”
Evans said he hopes meetings like this can get the ball rolling and grab the attention of those in Lansing and City Hall that could help.
“We’re hoping that Lansing will understand that people in Three Rivers really care about this issue and need help right now,” Evans said. “We also want to encourage the City of Three Rivers to engage more directly and more openly with the citizens themselves, because we’ll be scheduling meeting with local officials.”
Those meetings, Evans said, will happen over the winter months after the November City Commission elections. Overall, he said he was pleased by the turnout for the meeting, and hopes more people will speak out about the issue of water in future meetings.
“I think this demonstrates how hot this issue really is,” Evans said.
Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@threeriversnews.com.