Filters are being installed on fixtures at two buildings at Children’s Village on the Oakland County campus after routine water testing detected low levels of Legionella bacteria.
The county said in a news release Wednesday, March 4, that 0.2-micron filters are being added to Building D, the boys’ secure detention area, and in the school building. The water systems in both buildings will be flushed.
There are no known cases of Legionnaires’ disease associated with either building, and the county said the risk to residents, employees and the public “remains low.” The release said the detected strain is not the one that most commonly causes Legionnaires’ disease.
Four samples were collected in the boys’ secure detention building and five were taken in the school building. Both buildings had one low-level detection, the county said. Follow-up testing will be done after the initial remediation.
None of the other Children’s Village buildings tested positive for the bacteria. Water samples at eight Children’s Village buildings were collected Feb. 24, with results coming back March 4, the county said.
The Children’s Village buildings are on the Waterford Township portion of the county campus. Children’s Village includes secure detention, residential treatment and shelter care, according to the county’s website.
Filters also are in place on faucets and water fountains at the sheriff’s administration building (38E) and the circuit courthouse tower until May. Both buildings have the campus address of 1200 North Telegraph in Pontiac.
The sheriff’s administration building has had filters since December after officials learned that a custodial employee assigned to the building was hospitalized with Legionnaires’ disease in November. Testing was required there and at the courthouse tower, where a person, who was not a county employee, tested positive for the disease in April and listed the courthouse among the places they visited during their exposure period.
Filters also were installed at the North Oakland Health Center and Resource and Crisis Center after prior positive tests in those buildings. The county said that overall more than 500 filters have been installed to date.
The county is testing buildings throughout its campus, with numerous sites previously testing negative including: the north office building (26E), animal shelter and pet adoption center, circuit court complex west wing extension, jail, Little Oaks Child Development Center, medical examiner’s office and east and west wings of the courthouse.
The county has spent more than $640,000 in its Legionella response, the majority for 2,244 0.2-micro filters in case bacteria is detected in a fixture. It said it has spent nearly $62,000 on testing and just over $10,000 on faucets, adapters and masks.
To expedite the installation of filters in the larger facilities, the county said it has spent approximately $9,000 to bring in a contractor to assist with the installation work.
The county also is routinely flushing the system and monitoring water temperatures across all buildings.
Legionella bacteria can be found in water systems, such as showerheads, sink faucets, decorative fountains, large complex plumbing systems and cooling towers, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People commonly get sick when they inhale droplets containing the bacteria. The fatality rate among people with Legionnaires’ disease is about 10%.
There have been 22 cases of legionellosis in Michigan this year; 361 cases in 2025; 418 cases in 2024; 430 cases in 2023, and 371 cases in 2022, according to the Michigan Disease Surveillance System weekly disease report for the week ending Feb. 21.
Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on X: @challreporter.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Legionella bacteria detected at 2 Children’s Village buildings
Reporting by Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
