3/23/14 - Users of Hamburg Township's sewer system should not expect any changes to local ordinances now that the state has loosened wastewater sodium level restrictions. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality recently declared that higher levels of sodium will be allowed for wastewater treatment plants, raising the maximum from 120 parts per million to 250 parts per million for groundwater and 400 parts per million for effluent. The township had previously put in place an ordinance requiring those on the sewer system to use potassium chloride water softener instead of sodium chloride, and the township board clarified this week that this requirement is still in place. Supervisor Pat Hohl says Hamburg is a sodium-rich area to begin with, and water from some wells can have sodium levels at 80% of the groundwater limits even before being softened. He says the increase in the allowable sodium levels does bring the Hamburg treatment plant just barely within the acceptable range. (TD)
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