Michigan is ground zero in groundwater war

In a quaint, quiet home along the bank of the Muskegon River, Valerie Duer counts wildlife, trout and a giant multinational food and beverage corporation among her nearest neighbors.

The critters were the desired part of the deal when Duer and her husband, Paul, moved to Big Prairie Township in rural Newaygo County near Michigan's west coast from Grand Haven seven years ago.

But Duer has spent most of those years fighting to oust Nestle Waters North America, a corporation that pumps and sells some 107 million gallons of spring water annually from wells that draw water from the Muskegon River watershed.

"I'm worried that they will never stop. They'll just keep plunging holes in the ground," said Duer, 59, who is retired. "There's just no way to stop them. And all they are concerned about is the bottom line, the profits."

Despite a 2001 lawsuit from the grassroots Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation against Nestle that lingers at the Michigan Supreme Court, the company has sunk an additional well in Osceola County, further infuriating those who claim another well will suck the life out of the Muskegon River watershed.

Environmental groups and residents fear that the removal of water will lower the levels of the state's rivers and lakes, trigger higher water temperatures -- both of which could harm fish and other aquatic life -- and drain wetlands.

from the Detroit News