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JBLM to begin PFAS outreach; Lakewood Water District coordinating testing; community cleanup served 486 vehicles
Summary
The City Manager told the Lakewood City Council on April 14 that Joint Base Lewis–McChord plans public outreach on PFAS mitigation with open houses at Clover Park Technical College on April 23–24 and that the base has notified 33 Lakewood addresses about testing.
The City Manager reported at the April 14 study session that Joint Base Lewis–McChord (JBLM) plans to initiate public outreach next week on PFAS mitigation and that Lakewood Water District is closely involved in coordinating local testing and information.
"They expect to have some open houses at Clover Park Technical College on April 23 and April 24," the City Manager said. He added that JBLM had sent notification letters to 33 Lakewood addresses and followed up with door knocks to seek permission to test private wells and other on-property water systems. The manager said JBLM is working with the Washington State Department of Ecology and that the base suspects firefighting foam used at McChord Field as a likely source of contamination.
The City Manager explained that the Army is leading the outreach effort because the Air Force is a tenant at JBLM, and that Lakewood Water District is "much more actively involved and engaged in this than we are." He said the base expected to finalize its media notifications on April 21 and that multi-year mitigation work is likely.
The manager also reported on a separate city event: the recent community cleanup, which accommodated 486 vehicles over two days, a 16.5% increase from the previous year and a 6.2% increase compared with February 2023. He thanked assistant to the city manager and policy analyst Michael Vargas and Waste Connections for coordinating the event.
Council members had no formal action on the items; the city manager said JBLM and local partners would provide more information and outreach next week.
