Michigan is ground zero in groundwater war

Residents fear lower water levels as Nestle taps into western Michigan watershed

Amy Lee / The Detroit News

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.

The citizens-versus-multinational corporation lawsuit has drawn national attention and led Michigan lawmakers in February 2006 to create the state's first-ever law addressing water withdrawals. Sixty companies can process bottled water in Michigan, but Nestle's operations are by far the largest, said Jim Cleland, a state water expert with the Department of Environmental Quality.

The 2006 law requires permits for wells that withdraw more than 250,000 gallons per day. Nestle plans to withdraw 216,000 gallons daily or up to an additional 70 million gallons annually when the Osceola well becomes operational later this year.

The water sale

The company sells 16 ounces of Michigan spring water for $1 under the Ice Mountain brand, which is bottled at a plant in Stanwood. The company made some $253.7 million in sales of Ice Mountain in 2005, the most recent year statistics were available, according to company spokeswoman Deb Muchmore.

Nestle officials, armed with years of company-funded studies of west Michigan's watersheds, argue there's plenty of water available underground and that their pumping operations do not cause "adverse impact" on nearby lakes or streams. State studies estimate some 27 billion gallons of water flow into underground aquifers statewide daily.

"The key purpose at looking at additional sites is to diversify the water resources they rely on and using the whole network wisely," Muchmore said. "They're making sure they have enough water supply to ensure the long-term viability of the investment they have and the job base they've created."

Nestle spent some $150 million in 2002 to build the Stanwood plant, which employs 250 people. The company this year will announce the construction of another bottling facility, either in Evart or in Indiana, Muchmore said.

But the citizens group, led by Traverse City attorney Jim Olson, argues Nestle's spring water withdrawals have already drained wetlands and lowered the flow of the Dead Stream and the level of the Tri Lakes in the Muskegon watershed.

The water fight

After six years of legal wrangling, the citizens group has questions lingering before the Michigan Supreme Court that water and legal experts say could shape the future of water withdrawals in Michigan.

States such as California, where water is scarce, have tough withdrawal laws, as does Minnesota, which is more comparable to Michigan in terms of water resources, Olson said. "We're very strong environmentally in protecting streams, wetland and water quality. But what we have addressing withdrawing groundwater is inadequate and not very comprehensive," Olson said.

The court heard oral arguments on the case Jan. 11 but it is unclear when it will rule. Two key issues:

• Whether laws prohibit groundwater users, such as Nestle, from removing water from a watershed, especially if that water is then exported for sale.

• Whether groundwater is part of the public trust, which has historically protected the public's right to access navigable waterways.

Dave Dempsey, Great Lakes policy adviser for Clean Water Action, a national citizens' water organization, said a ruling in Nestle's favor could lead to a rush to drill Michigan's groundwater.

"We're in a new era where government inaction or abdication of public trust is allowing the international privatization of water," Dempsey said. "We're at risk of losing control of this in the Great Lakes basin."

But Nestle attorney Mike Haines of the Grand Rapids firm Mika, Meyers, Beckett & Jones, argues history -- and the law -- is on Nestle's side.

"If you have a cottage on a rivulet, or some other non-navigable waterway, you don't have to allow people to walk through, just because it's water. It's been that way from time immemorial," he said.

Expansion plans

Beside the yet-to-open Osceola County well, the company is also looking at sinking a well in the White River watershed near White Cloud in Newaygo County, Muchmore said.

That infuriates Jay Peasley, a member of the White River Watershed Partnership, who lives on the White River about 20 miles downstream from the proposedNewaygo County well. The White River watershed is much smaller than the Muskegon watershed, which makes it much more vulnerable to environmental decimation, he said.

"I don't have problems with farmers using groundwater to water their crops because the water stays within the watershed," Peasley said. "What they're proposing is a diversion, pumping it out and selling it to Timbuktu and it's not coming back."

Nestle officials say preliminary studies show the White watershed has an abundant flow of groundwater.

But Nestle's rapid expansion has Duer and other citizen activists accusing the state of accommodating Nestle to the detriment of the environment.

"Ten years from now, people are going to say, 'Why didn't we do something about this?' " Duer said. "People wage war over water, and Michigan just gives it away. When will it stop?"

You can reach Amy Lee at (313) 222-2548 or alee@detnews.com.