OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — 13 ON YOUR SIDE has been following Ottawa County's groundwater issue closely. Just last week, we were the first to report that the state will give the county more than $1 million to help the crisis.
But we wanted to know more about how that money will be used and how it will help solve the problem.
"This is a very serious issue," said Paul Sachs, Director of Ottawa County's Department of Strategic Impact. "Our groundwater issues in Ottawa County are one of the top challenges that this county is facing."
Last week, the state legislature noticed the severity of the problem, and granted the county $1.1 million to start taking action to fix the groundwater crisis.
"Without the state funding, we'd be left for lack of a better term, guessing, as best possible with what's happening below our feet," Sachs said. "This is exactly what we needed to move us in the right direction."
The county has done years of studies to determine that they do have a groundwater crisis, but Sachs said this money will be the first step in taking real action to fix the problems.
"We're not studying anymore," said Sachs, "we're responding and proactively addressing the challenge to move us forward into the future."
The $1.1 million will be used to create more specific data by drilling about 50 wells across the county that will each have monitoring devices. Within a few years these monitors will build a virtual, 3-D model of the county's underground systems.
"Not only will that model show our groundwater conditions in real-time, but also what happens when there's excessive withdraw rates," said Sachs. "We can also run all kinds of scenarios to better plan for future development."
Sachs said conserving water and being aware of usage is still important, but he is grateful that they can continue to fight this issue that has burdened the lakeshore county for years.
"In addition to the financial dollars that the state is contributing towards this project, what's also I think just as important is the support and recognition from the legislature on how important an issue this is," he said.
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