WOW!!!! Things sure can get bloated out of control quickly!! The stories about the de-icing from the airport getting into the Thornapple River have a lot of falsehoods in them!! Here are some explanations of what you may have read or heard:
First, the de-icing liquid used at the airport is Propylene Glycol, not Ethylene Glycol. Ethylene Glycol is uesd in vehicle radiators and is very toxic if ingested (that's why you don't let your dog lick puddles in parking lots! - it will kill them!). Propylene Glycol, used for de-icing aircraft, is also used in some food products, food coloring, mouthwash and toothpaste. The liquid is quick to evaporate. When test samples were taken in the Thornapple River (when it was being used at the airport - which has been done for the last 20+ years), none was found - it had evaporated before getting there.
Second, one of the possibilities to remove the Glycol from the creek is to re-direct it from the current creek into a man-made "creek" mixed with other stormwater runoff from the airport. The new tributary would have check dams and other additions to help the Glycol dissipate and evaporate. The Glycol will still not make it to the Thornapple River.
Third, another possibility is to collect the Glycol and route it to the Grand Rapids Waste Water Treatment Plant. Talks continue on this option. There was a test of this option last winter and there may be another this year to help determine the viability of this option.
Cascade Township has and will continue to have good communications and good relations with the airport. We will (with the airport), work towards a positive solution to the disposal of the Glycol from the airport.
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