GREENLAND TOWNSHIP — A Michigan Department of Natural Resources crew recently uncovered an old wellhead off the Bill Nichols Rail-Trail that has been determined to feed the homes and the trail-side stop where the water has been used for drinking water and other watering needs for decades. The announcement comes from an Aug. 1, 2023, DNR release. The well is located on state-owned land.

While the source of water supplying two residences and what the State defines as an unregulated trail-side spigot has been confirmed in Ontonagon County’s Greenland Township, the release states, the search for a safe, viable and affordable water supply continues.

The State contends that the water source supplies two residences, but the Greenland Township Board, in a February 2023 statement, disagreed. The well, the township said in the release, has been used for many years by both the local population and visiting tourists.

DNR personnel began looking for the water source in May.

In July, a DNR crew found the wellhead a short distance off the trail, roughly a half-mile from the unregulated spigot, which is situated not far east of M-38 at the former site of Lake Mine, a historic mining community.

Earlier this summer, a 3-inch diameter water pipe was temporarily shut off to determine whether it fed the homes and the spigot. After about three hours, the water did stop flowing to the residences and the trail-side water stop, the DNR release says. The exposed wellhead is shown protruding from a layer of clay. That pipe was then followed west.

A backhoe was used to remove several feet of dirt and rocks to uncover the wellhead, which is located on land administered by the DNR’s Forest Resources Division.

The buried pipe was surrounded by wooden boards that helped to stabilize the pipe casing.

It is unknown how deep the vertical pipe goes into the ground, but officials with EGLE said the water supply was likely an artesian flow underground that was drilled into through native clay.

EGLE officials said previously that if the source well construction was verified it would help determine if the well could be used in its current condition, might be modified to meet well construction standards, or will need to be plugged and abandoned.

Last week, DNR and EGLE officials met with county and township officials to discuss the latest developments in the investigation.

“We found the wellhead, but we cannot support its continued use,” said Rob Wolfe, EGLE’s district environmental analyst in Ontonagon County. “We are looking for providing a viable option.”

Wolfe said the old piping is “too fragile” for continued use. If the pipe were to break, it would be unlikely that it could be repaired.

Additional concerns include the water system’s pipe depth of only roughly a foot underground in many places. EGLE officials said in the Upper Peninsula, water piping is usually placed at least 7 feet below the ground to prevent winter frost breakage.

The DNR, the release says, has been working cooperatively with the local health department, EGLE, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Ontonagon County and Greenland Township to address concerns at this site. The offices of state legislators Ed McBroom and Greg Markkanen have also been involved.

The DNR is under an order from EGLE to disable the makeshift drinking spigot along the trail and close off access to the water.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) has granted the DNR an extension into September to determine whether potential alternatives exist that might keep the water available to the public.