Caledonia Mayor clarifies Village Water Safety

   In early November, the village placed a full page public notice in a local publication as mandated by the Livingston County Health Department. The notice was required as a means of informing Village of Caledonia water customers on the quality of their municipal water. Instead, many residents interpreted the information to mean that the water they are currently consuming is unsafe. Caledonia Mayor Joe Caluorie says there is no cause for concern and says the village board followed up with a more reader friendly letter that was mailed to every household last week.

   The information alarmed some residents who believed the notice read that the water was unsafe, particularly to infants and the elderly. Caluorie says he received calls and was stopped on the street by concerned residents. The notice was in connection with the county health department’s mandate requiring the village to discontinue use of its own private wells and purchase Monroe County Water for its approximately 900 village customers.

   "The water quality has not changed and it is perfectly safe to consume. This is in regards to the 2003 regulation from the EPA, passed down by the Livingston County Health Department, requiring the village to discontinue use of its two wells and purchase water from the Monroe County Water Authority for its customers," Caluorie said.

   "The regulation required the village to complete the change from local well water to Monroe County water by May 2008. The village board and our engineers worked with the county health department to develop an acceptable plan to accomplish this. The plans have been submitted to the county health department and now we are awaiting their approval so that we can become compliant with the regulation," the mayor explained.

   Caluorie said as soon the village receives word from the county health department that the plans are approved; it will be a short time before the change takes place. The infrastructure is in place to make the switch and the mayor says customers should not notice any interruption in their water service when it occurs.

   "This change was mandated by the EPA, handed down and carried out at the county level and now all we are waiting for is the county’s approval to complete the process," the mayor answered.

   In an attempt to relieve residents’ concerns, the village board mailed a letter to every household in the village why the process is not final. He said the village board asked for some of the verbiage in the contract to be amended. The agreement includes the Livingston County Sewer and Water Authority, who will be the billing authority between Monroe County Water Authority and the Village of Caledonia.

   So while residents should not be concerned at the present time about water quality, Caluorie says they should be prepared for a significant rate increase with the change over. The simple explanation is that residents will no longer be able to purchase their water wholesale from the village but will be purchasing the water retail from the MCWA who sets the rate.

   "To be more precise, we no longer produce the water for our customers, we are now the customers buying the water from another authority for our residents," Caluorie remarked.

   The process requires the village to dismantle much of its own system, including the pumps, the telemetry equipment and the stainless steel air purification equipment. The village will try to sell as much of the equipment as possible. The entire process is estimated to cost the village about $100 thousand. Fortunately, the village was able to secure a grant for that amount through Senator Dale Volker’s office.

   In 2003, the EPA identified Caledonia’s municipal wells as "ground water under influence." This means that the two wells that supply water to village residents have a potential for significant surface contamination because of their location and because they are shallow. Earlier tests revealed traces of insect parts and other inorganic pollutants that indicated the vulnerability of the 100-year old wells that are located on the east side of the village, down hill of the rest of the village. The United States Environmental Protection Agency placed Caledonia and all similar water systems under a regulation called Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule. Another words, because there is a potential for contamination to the wells, the EPA is requiring the village to discontinue use of its own water system and purchase Monroe County Water for its customers.