Residents of 2 Michigan towns warned of contaminated tap water

July 27 (UPI) -- Four years after the Flint water crisis, two cities in southern Michigan were advised Friday to stop drinking their tap water because of high concentrations of chemicals.

Residents in Parchment and Cooper Township were advised to stop drinking the water because state environmental officials found in it high levels of PFAS contaminants, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

Water sample tests were done statewide, but the chemicals were found only in Parchment's water supply. That reserve is also used by Cooper Township, less than three miles to the north.

It wasn't immediately known how the chemicals entered the water system.

"Any resident on the City of Parchment's water supply system [is advised to] immediately stop using their water for drinking, cooking, making baby formula and food, or rinsing fruits and vegetables," Kalamazoo County said in a statement Thursday.

"Touching the water is not considered a health concern as PFAS does not move easily through skin. You can bathe, do your dishes, launder your clothes and clean with water that has PFAS in it. It is advised that farm animals and pets do not drink the water."

As a short-term solution, the towns' water supply will be drained and flushed until the PFAS levels fall below the health advisory level.

Officials said bottled water will be provided to residents.

The advisory came a little more than four years after the water crisis in Flint, about 100 miles southwest of Parchment. In that case, residents couldn't drink tap water for about a year due to high levels of lead in the water that was linked to aging underground pipes.