Boardman advisory lifted except near Logan's Landing

TRAVERSE CITY — The Grand Traverse County Health Department has lifted its no-body-contact advisory on Boardman Lake and most of the Boardman River after Wednesday's water samples came back at safe levels, The Ticker and 9&10 News reported Thursday. A Level 2 advisory remains near Logan's Landing, at the South Airport Road sewer spill.

Samples collected Wednesday on the lake and on the river north of Boardman Lake met Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy standards for Level 1 full-body contact, both desks reported. One sample taken in the source area of the release exceeded EGLE Level 2. 9&10 reported that reading as 613 E. coli colonies per 100 milliliters. Level 1 is 0 to 300; Level 2 is 300 to 1,000. Seven other test points were in Level 1, 9&10 said.

The health department recommends limiting contact with the water to below waist level in the remaining advisory area, according to The Ticker and 9&10. Follow-up samples were collected Thursday. The department said it would issue an update Friday, Aug. 28, once those results are in.

The Level 4 no-body-contact advisory went up Tuesday after a sewer force main failed under South Airport Road and sent untreated sewage into the Boardman, The Ticker and 9&10 reported. It covered all of Boardman Lake and the river downstream to East Grandview Parkway. County Public Works Director Noah Karberg told The Ticker an estimated 21,000 gallons were released, with less than 10,000 gallons reaching the watershed. Crews found a four-foot crack along the bottom of a 10-inch HDPE force main, 9&10 reported, and had the pump system running again by about 2 a.m. Wednesday.

Health Officer Mike Lahey told The Ticker on Tuesday there was no alert for Grand Traverse Bay beaches, citing the volume of fresh water in the lake and river. "The solution to pollution is dilution," he said, according to The Ticker, and the department would keep sampling downstream.