Lake Gogebic SP Michigan

[steve dunham]

We are taking 4 of our Grandchildren to Lake Gogebic SP in July.
Since Michigan has been in the news lately due to issues with unsafe drinking water , I am a little concerned.!! I have made numerous phone calls and sent several E-Mails to various Michigan government agencies inquiring about the the quality of the water at the park. So far I have only been able to contact one person , and she could not answer my question. We went camping at a Wisconsin state park last summer and upon arrival we discovered that the park's water was contaminated with nitrates ,which forced us to buy water in a local town. Thus my question .

"Is the water at Lake Gogebic SP safe for human consumption ?"

Thanks
Steve D

[Paul O.]

On the map it looks almost as far from Flint as you can get within the state. I would say your chances of finding good or bad water at Lake Gogebig SP are as good as at any state park in the country. Besides, whatever the answer is at this date, it might be different in July.

[Eddie Longest]

Steve
We camped at a Mi. state park this summer. In addition to your CG fee you have to buy some type of Mi. state park pass. If you stay 3 nights you are just as well off to buy the annual pass for about $30. We had an emergency at home and had to leave after staying one night. We paid more for the pass than we did for the campsite. I guess it was an out of state campers fee.
Eddie

[Mike Magee]

Water at Gogebic should be fine. The Flint River is nowhere in the vicinity. I've gotten water at McLain SP and Porcupine Mountains SP, both of which are fairly close to Lake Gogebic, and the water at each place was normal.

The drive along the west side of the Keweenaw Peninsula would make a nice, picturesque day trip. If late July, the thimbleberries should be out. Find yourselves a jar of thimbleberry jam to buy while you're up there, too... they're similar to raspberries, but a little more tart and with smaller seeds.

[LyleB]

Originally Posted by Eddie Longest

Steve
We camped at a Mi. state park this summer. In addition to your CG fee you have to buy some type of Mi. state park pass. If you stay 3 nights you are just as well off to buy the annual pass for about $30. We had an emergency at home and had to leave after staying one night. We paid more for the pass than we did for the campsite. I guess it was an out of state campers fee.
Eddie

Nope, residents have to pay a vehicle entrance fee as well, but we get the option to purchase an annual pass as part of our vehicle registration, it's an optional charge, but gets you into all the state park facilities - still have to pay the campground fee.

Our legislature doesn't like to raise taxes, but they LOVE their fees.

[George in New Mex]

Steve, Mike Magee is correct on the Flint River being the cause of the Flint water woes. When the city switched to the river as its source, the old pipes couldn't take the corrosive level of the "new" water, and it caused the release of lead and other horrible things into the system. The park water is likely found elsewhere, so it's probably no worse than any other nasty water you can find anywhere in the USA. Sounds like you're planning a fantastic trip, and that thimbleberry jam sounds great, too. Have fun!

[steve dunham]

I realize that Flint and Lake Gogebic SP are quite a distance apart . That being said Flint is not the only place in Michigan having water issues . We have been to several state / county parks in the last several years where the water was contaminated and warning signs were posted .I am fast approaching 70 so I am almost a lost cause but I do not wish to expose my grandkids to unsafe water. I finally heard back from the State of Michigan and all they will tell me is they plan on testing the parks water but they will not furnish the results of the test. From what I read Flint is only the tip of the iceberg in Michigan.

[Mike Magee]

Well water in MI is generally the best (safest) you can drink, and wells are plentiful throughout rural parts of the state. I grew up on well water near Standish MI; it had a lot of flavor from iron and minerals, but I thought it tasted great. There are exceptions; my mother in law's well (near Secord Lake) produces salty water! (There are salt deposits in the state, and salt mines.) They have to filter that stuff out, but otherwise it's safe water.

River water is a different story... and not just in MI, either. Picture this. Town A draws water from the river, adds stuff to kill bacteria, and pipes it to the residents; the residents take all sorts of meds, then they excrete these meds into the sewer water, which is treated by the city's sewage plant and pumped back into the river. This water flows downstream to town B, which repeats the process. Then town C, town D, etc. If you live downstream of several such municipalities, you are taking somewhat significant quantities of Viagra, Plavix, and whatnot... without realizing it.

I would expect the water at Gogebic SP to be well water. Even if it isn't, I think the lake is near a headwater area and the inflow should be pretty clean.

[George in New Mex]

Wow, Mike. That's pretty frightening. I guess we could all do better by using composting toilets and heavy duty filters. Even the composting probably would not prevent the drugs from getting back into the soil. Anyway, thanks for the thought-provoking info.

[Raz]

I won't drink campground water. I've been to to many campgrounds where the water just looked bad or there was one sign on one bulliten board saying the water had failed a test. Meanwhile the spigots are all working. I bring water from home or buy it at the store.

I remember one campgound where the water was brown with sediment from them flushing the pipes and no warning what so ever. I won't shower in that stuff. You pays your money and takes your chances. Raz

[Jimp]

It sounds like the sky is falling .

[Paul Braun]

You may have heard of the Gogebic Iron Range. Lake Gogebic is surrounded by iron mines, some still active, many shuttered.

I believe you will find the water at Lake Gogebic to have a heavy iron taste, over time you may also find that freshwater tanks will take on a rust colored hue. Nothing harmful but in our case it makes the coffee taste awful. For that reason the water we use for consumption from this area usually goes through a Brita to improve the flavor.

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

Well water in MI is generally the best (safest) you can drink, and wells are plentiful throughout rural parts of the state. I grew up on well water near Standish MI; it had a lot of flavor from iron and minerals, but I thought it tasted great. There are exceptions; my mother in law's well (near Secord Lake) produces salty water! (There are salt deposits in the state, and salt mines.) They have to filter that stuff out, but otherwise it's safe water.

River water is a different story... and not just in MI, either. Picture this. Town A draws water from the river, adds stuff to kill bacteria, and pipes it to the residents; the residents take all sorts of meds, then they excrete these meds into the sewer water, which is treated by the city's sewage plant and pumped back into the river. This water flows downstream to town B, which repeats the process. Then town C, town D, etc. If you live downstream of several such municipalities, you are taking somewhat significant quantities of Viagra, Plavix, and whatnot... without realizing it.

I would expect the water at Gogebic SP to be well water. Even if it isn't, I think the lake is near a headwater area and the inflow should be pretty clean.

News flash! What you are talking about are "contaminants of emerging concern" and well water (ground water) is not a "get out of jail free" card. Where do you think all the urine and what it contains from antibiotic fed livestock ends up? And the treated sewage from wastewater plants which is disposed on spray fields or into rapid infiltration basins, AKA in the water/wastewater industry as RIBs? It doesn't always go into rivers. Or the fertilizer/pesticides that are dumped on agricultural fields or residential lawns? And it's not just the drugs you mentioned. Let's not forget estrogen and progesterone in birth control pills, being taken in massive quantities throughout the world. Reverse osmosis (RO) will remove most contaminants of emerging concern. As a result, river (surface) water that has been RO'd will have a much lower concentration of contaminants than well (ground) water.


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[LyleB]

Very few, if any of these concerns are at all limited to Michigan. Same concerns throughout most of the country, in fact, I would guess much higher risks in some areas. Anywhere there is agricultural or industrial operations, high populations densities, or lagging infrastructure maintenance should be a concern.

Add to that the never ending call to reduce government spending as the primary motivating factor in today's political climate, and every community is at risk. Flint was just a stark and extreme example of where these misplaced values are leading us.

Use common sense in choosing your water sources, but bottled water isn't necessarily the answer either, most cases it's just filtered tap water. There are plenty of good filter products on the market, some much better than the obvious big box offerings.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Paul Braun

You may have heard of the Gogebic Iron Range. Lake Gogebic is surrounded by iron mines, some still active, many shuttered.

I believe you will find the water at Lake Gogebic to have a heavy iron taste, over time you may also find that freshwater tanks will take on a rust colored hue. Nothing harmful but in our case it makes the coffee taste awful. For that reason the water we use for consumption from this area usually goes through a Brita to improve the flavor.

I lived on Minnesota's Medabi iron range and have witnessed and tasted iron enriched well water . It makes terrible coffee . Some of the well water also contained maganeze and hydrogen sulfide .
One turns things black ,the other smells like rotten eggs .
We live 6 miles from an EPA superfund site . The plant that was at that site treated wood poles with penta & other chemicals for use as utility poles. The owner decided to increase his profits by dumping waste chemicals in the swampy area at the back of the property. The toxic chemicals got into the local aquifer .They had to move a highway because of contaminated soil and property values in that area plummeted . $164,000,000 later they are still cleaning up the mess and monitoring the local ground and surface water.
Again as in Michigan, the state government and its leaders faIled to protect public safety and health and then tried to cover it up .
Is the "SKY FALLING" ? Where I live the answer is YES

[LyleB]

Originally Posted by CPW

News flash! What you are talking about are "contaminants of emerging concern" and well water (ground water) is not a "get out of jail free" card. Where do you think all the urine and what it contains from antibiotic fed livestock ends up? And the treated sewage from wastewater plants which is disposed on spray fields or into rapid infiltration basins, AKA in the water/wastewater industry as RIBs? It doesn't always go into rivers. Or the fertilizer/pesticides that are dumped on agricultural fields or residential lawns? And it's not just the drugs you mentioned. Let's not forget estrogen and progesterone in birth control pills, being taken in massive quantities throughout the world. Reverse osmosis (RO) will remove most contaminants of emerging concern. As a result, river (surface) water that has been RO'd will have a much lower concentration of contaminants than well (ground) water.


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I have done some research into Reverse Osmosis water filtration for use in aquariums. It does remove many more "contaminants" than simpler filtration methods, but at a cost of wasting a lot of water in the process if my memory serves me correctly. Probably not a concern here in Michigan, but someplace like California or Arizona it may not be such a great alternative.

Please correct me if I'm wrong - no real hard and fast opinions on this issue as of now.

[C&G in FL]

You are, in a sense, correct Lyle.
And that is because there is no such thing as a "free lunch." Large scale RO is energy intensive and the filters require backwashing using some water. That hasn't stopped the People's Republic of California from construction of a huge desalination plant (RO), even given the scarcity of water in Southern California. Distilling water also requires energy use. In either case, the water isn't appealing to the palate as both processes remove minerals and make the water taste flat. But there is a solution.....drink copious amounts of beer, wine, or spirits. Once you have consumed enough, you won't care if your drink contains any of the contaminants of emerging concern! And they are everywhere. Well, maybe not Antarctica. Last I checked, however, RVing opportunities there are severely limited.


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