Ottawa County plans for sustainable water use

With clean fresh water emerging as the most valuable natural resource in the 21st century, one West Michigan county has launched a study to map the availability of ground water resources. Ultimately, the effort aims to promote the sustainable use of water, the supply of which is limited even in the aqua rich Great Lakes region.

According to excerpts from the story:

Ottawa County hopes a study will prevent rural subdivisions from running low on water in the future.

The county’s proposed groundwater-surface water analysis will help officials determine how much groundwater there is, where it is and how quickly it can be recharged.

“It would give us a much better decision-making tool,” Mark Knudsen, director of the county’s planning department, told the Holland Sentinel. “We can determine whether that aquifer can support that development or not without having a municipal line extended.”

Read the complete story here.