Byline: Julie Makarewicz / The Grand Rapids Press
MIDDLEVILLE -- Lee Elementary Principal Tom Enslen became a chauffeur Thursday morning, driving some students home after unsafe chlorine levels were discovered in the village water system.
All 3,020 Thornapple Kellogg students were sent home early after village officials detected higher than normal levels of chlorine in some of their daily water quality testing. Shortly after 8 a.m., officials warned about 1,100 customers on the system not to drink or use the water for any purposes, including cooking or washing.
Interim Superintendent Patricia Koeze decided to send students home early, citing a lack of working toilets, potentially unsanitary conditions and an inability to prepare food in school cafeterias.
That created the monumental task for teachers and administrators to contact parents of hundreds of elementary and middle school students. Middle and high school students were dismissed about 9:30 a.m. and elementary students by 10:45 a.m.
By about 11:45 a.m., village officials said the water was safe to use again.
Elementary students were not allowed to ride buses home until parents were notified.
For those whose parents could not be contacted, a day care was set up at Lee Elementary where about 50 children stayed until early afternoon.
"We made contact with parents as soon as we could, and we got kids home as soon as we could. Sometimes, that meant I took them home after parents were contacted," Enslen said.
Village Department of Public Works Director Wayne Winchester said he is investigating what caused too much chlorine to be dispensed into the system.
Throughout the morning, water lines were flushed throughout the village.
Geoff Moffat, Middleville village planner, said levels were up in some areas from what is considered safe at 1 to 2 parts per million to as high as 4 and 5 parts per million.
The highest chlorine levels were detected in tests west of the Thornapple River, Moffat said.
Chlorine is used in the system to keep out harmful bacteria. But too much chlorine, Moffat explained, can cause irritation, especially in people with sensitivities to the chemical.
The five TK schools all use the village water and are probably the largest concentrated user of the system when school is in session, said Winchester.
Koeze said sending students home early was a tough test for district policy.
"We'll be evaluating how it worked and make changes if we need to," she said.
Gale Document Number:CJ158405984