Which Michigan Communities Have Chromium 6 In Their Water — And How Much?

A new report shows drinking water supplies in Detroit and at many of its suburbs have the cancer-causing toxin chromium 6, which became a household name after Julia Roberts’ 2000 megahit based on the real-life environmentalist Erin Brockovich’s investigation of groundwater in Hinkley, California.

Chromium 6 has been linked to cancer, reproductive problems and liver problems, but none of the measurements in Michigan communities come close to the levels in Hinkley — about 1.19 parts per billion, with a peak of 3.09 ppb — according to the report from the Environmental Working Group.

Furthermore, none of the towns on the list exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s maximum of 100 parts per billion of total chromium.

The Environmental Working Group identified towns that exceed 0.02 parts per billion in tap water, a level that California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment set as a public health goal in 2011. The goal was set after Brockovich was successful in building a case against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) of California in 1993 that blamed the company for contaminating local water.

Officials in California believe even that level of the contaminant can be harmful and pose a cancer threat — not just for people who drink the water, but also bathe in it or have any contact.

The Environmental Working Group, a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to protecting human health and the environment, analyzed federal data from nationwide drinking water tests showing that the compound contaminates water supplies for more than 200 million Americans in all 50 states.

"Yet federal regulations are stalled by a chemical industry challenge that could mean no national regulation of a chemical state scientists in California and elsewhere say causes cancer when ingested at even extraordinarily low levels," according to the report.

Here is the list of cities, water commissions and countywide agencies that were tested for chromium 6, and the findings:

Oakland County

• Auburn Hills - Population Served: 21,412
• Berkley - Population Served: 14,970
• Beverly Hills - Population Served: 10,451
• Birmingham - Population Served: 20,103
• Bloomfield Township - Population Served: 41,070
• Clawson - Population Served: 11,825
• Commerce Township - Population Served: 17,400
• City of Farmington Hills - Population Served: 72,460
• City of Farmington - Population Served: 10,500
• Ferndale - Population Served: 22,105
• Hazel Park - Population Served: 16,400
• Independence Township - Population Served: 10,454
• Madison Heights - Population Served: 29,694
• City of Novi - Population Served: 44,000
• Oak Park - Population Served: 29,319
• Orion Township - Population Served: 33,000
• Pontiac - Population Served: 59,515
• Rochester Hills - Population Served: 70,995
• City of Royal Oak - Population Served: 57,236
• City of South Lyon - Population Served: 11,055
• Southfield - Population Served: 71,739
• Southwest Oakland Township - Population Served: 6,128
• Troy - Population Served: 80,980
• Waterford Township - Population Served: 67,652
• West Bloomfield Township - Population Served: 49,429

Wayne County

• Allen Park - Population Served: 28,210
• Brownstown Township - Population Served: 30,627
• Canton Township - Population Served: 90,173
• Dearborn - Population Served: 98,153
• Dearborn Heights - Population Served: 57,774
• City of Detroit - Population Served: 713,777
• Ecorse - Population Served: 9,512
• Garden City - Population Served: 27,625
• Grosse Ile Township - Population Served: 10,371
• Grosse Pointe Park - Population Served: 11,555
• Grosse Pointe Woods - Population Served: 16,135
• Hamtramck - Population Served: 22,413
• Harper Woods - Population Served: 14,236
• Highland Park - Population Served: 11,776
• Huron Township - Population Served: 15,879
• Inkster - Population Served: 25,369
• Lincoln Park - Population Served: 38,144
• Livonia - Population Served: 96,942
• Melvindale - Population Served: 10,715
• Northville Township - Population Served: 26,655
• Plymouth Township - Population Served: 27,524
• Redford Township - Population Served: 48,362
• Riverview - Population Served: 12,486
• Romulus - Population Served: 23,989
• Southgate - Population Served: 30,047
• Taylor - Population Served: 63,131
• Trenton - Population Served: 18,853
• Van Buren Township - Population Served: 27,359
• Wayne - Population Served: 17,593
• Westland - Population Served: 84,094
• Woodhaven - Population Served: 12,875
• Wyandotte - Population Served: 25,883

Macomb County

• Chesterfield Township - Population Served: 41,650
• Clinton Township - Population Served: 97,513
• Eastpointe - Population Served: 32,442
• Fraser - Population Served: 16,500
• Harrison Township - Population Served: 24,500
• Macomb Township - Population Served: 87,433
• City of Mt. Clemens - Population Served: 18,405
• City of New Baltimore - Population Served: 12,720
• Roseville - Population Served: 48,125
• Shelby Township - Population Served: 72,000
• St. Clair Shores - Population Served: 59,715
• Sterling Heights - Population Served: 127,000
• City of Warren - Population Served: 134,056
• Washington Township - Population Served: 15,828

Washtenaw County

• Ann Arbor - Population Served: 118,017
• Pittsfield Township - Population Served: 23,000
• Saline - Population Served: 8,940
• Ypsilanti Community Utility Authority - Population Served: 92,400

Genesee County

• Beecher Metropolitan District - Population Served: 9,400
• City of Burton - Population Served: 20,900
• City of Fenton - Population Served: 11,746
• City of Flint - Population Served: 99,763
• Genesee County Water System - Population Served: 71,500
• Grand Blanc Township - Population Served: 18,000

Livingston County

• MHOG Sewer & Water Authority - Population Served: 13,944
• Oak Pointe - Population Served: 1,900
• Tyrone Woods - Population Served: 733

Read the full report at the Environmental Working Group website here.

Patch file photo

— Written by Tom Davis with additional reporting by Beth Dalbey