Welcome to White Lodge Owners, Inc.
Welcome to the White Lodge Owners, Inc. website! Here you will find links to the board of directors, information about what's happening in the neighborhood, monthly news and lodge rental information.
White Lodge subdivision owners enjoy plenty of green space, hiking paths, boat slips and access to the Huron River Chain of Lakes. The community also includes the White Lodge Clubhouse that overlooks a private beach on Cordley Lake.
Neighborhood News
Welcome to our Neighborhood News page. If you have any news; just moved into White Lodge and want to introduce yourself, a new baby, upcoming wedding,...whatever, please email information and photos to Thalia Adams at whitelodgesecretary@gmail.com
YOU may be our next news story!
Welcome to our Neighborhood News page. If you have any news; just moved into White Lodge and want to introduce yourself, a new baby, upcoming wedding,...whatever, please email information and photos to Thalia Adams at whitelodgesecretary@gmail.com
YOU may be our next news story!
Impacts of PFAS could ripple for years in Livingston County, despite progress
Jennifer Timar Livingston Daily
March 2021
Daniel Brown said part of the reason he moved to Whitmore Lake was to be closer to some of his favorite stretches of the Huron River and connected chain of lakes.
Brown loves outdoor recreation, and he also monitors local ecology as a watershed planner for the Huron River Watershed Council.
A few years ago, state health officials issued a "do not eat fish" advisory for the Huron River and connected lakes and creeks in several counties, including a chain of lakes in southern Livingston County.
Brown said he does not expect officials will lift the advisory any time soon.
Hazardous industrial chemicals referred to broadly as PFAS have been found at elevated levels in fishin these waters.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy is also investigating several sites in the county where PFAS have been detected in groundwater samples, including manufacturing sites and landfills.
PFAS do not break down in nature and accumulate in fish and mammals, including humans. They have been dubbed "forever chemicals."
Two of the most common and most studied PFAS compounds, known as PFOS and PFOA, have been linked to cancer; conditions affecting the liver, thyroid and pancreas; ulcerative colitis; hormone and immune system interference; high cholesterol; pre-eclampsia in pregnant women, and negative effects on growth, learning and behavior in infants and children.
Brown said there is good news on the PFAS front, but it is complicated.
In 2018, a major source of PFAS in the Huron River watershed was identified as Wixom-based Tribar Manufacturing's chrome plating facility on Beck Road. PFAS showed up in the city's wastewater treatment plant. An investigation of the source of the pollution started after PFAS were found in Ann Arbor's city water.
A mobile water filtration system was installed at the Wixom plant to stop more PFAS from getting into the watershed, and it appears to have been successful, which Brown calls "the good news."
In August, EGLE found PFAS in surface water flowing into the river from Norton Creek had dropped by more than 99%.
"Since the start of monitoring in July 2018, PFAS levels in the Huron River downstream of Norton Creek have dropped from a maximum detection of 1,400 parts per trillion (ppt) to a maximum detection of 6.1 ppt," according to EGLE’s August 2020 sampling update.
"Levels in Norton Creek, thought to be a major source of the Huron River PFAS levels, declined by 99.8 percent from a maximum detection of 5,600 ppt in 2018 to a maximum detection of 12.2 ppt in August 2020."
However, the impact of the existing pollution could be felt for years to come.
"It's really good news we’ve knocked out the source of most of the contamination," Brown said.
"But what this means for the fish is different. PFAS bioaccumulate in the meat of the fish. So, the short answer that I think is the right one, in terms of the 'do not eat fish' advisory, it will probably take time for the fish that have PFAS in them to die off. I think it will take the life cycle of the fish, which could be five to seven years from 2018."
In July, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced the "do not eat fish" advisory will remain in place as more data is collected.
In Livingston County, the advisory includes: The Huron River, Kent Lake, Ore Lake, Strawberry Lake, Zukey Lake, Gallagher Lake, Loon Lake, Whitewood Lake, Base Line Lake, Portage Lake
The advisory also applies to the river and connected bodies of water in Oakland, Washtenaw and Wayne counties.
For the advisory to be lifted, the state must have two tests of fish meat that show contamination levels below the state's criteria, and those samples must be collected during two different seasons.
While the state has ramped up its response to PFAS contamination, some of the science of exactly how it impacts animals and plants remains unknown.
"I'm thinking over the next 10 to 20 years, there is going to be a lot of research on how it impacts fish, mammals, birds and plants," Brown said.
In the meanwhile, PFAS pollution in the Huron River watershed has had some social impacts.
"We know a lot of people in the watershed fish because they need to, not because they like to," Brown said. "It becomes an issue of environmental justice and justice for indigenous cultures, some who for cultural reasons refuse to not eat the fish. And there are people who can't afford to not eat the fish they catch, especially near the more rural areas."
Brown said before the pandemic he noticed many people who fish turning away from the watershed and going other places . He got many calls from residents and visitors who were concerned whether it was safe to recreate in the river and lakes.
"With the pandemic, the overall popularity of the water trail has exploded, but we know people are going to different communities to get fish," Brown said.
MDHHS officials say it is safe to swim and touch fish.
The state also issued an advisory to not swallow foam that accumulates on shorelines. Some foam, especially if it is bright white in color, could contain PFAS.
Some residents have reported suspicious foam on Portage Lake, but EGLE has not yet determined what it is.