Controversy is brewing over plans to tap into underground water supplies in Mecosta and Osceola Counties to sell as bottled water.
A grass-roots group is collecting signatures to force a referendum on recent zoning changes in Mecosta that favored Perrier’s proposal.
The owner of the Ice Mountain brand wants to pump an average of 500 gallons a minute from aquifers about an hour north of Grand Rapids.
Perrier Group of America’s $60 million plan pledges that neighboring wells, lakes and wetlands will not be at risk as it taps as much as 720,000 gallons a day, or roughly half the amount used daily in the city of Big Rapids.
Grass-roots group Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation has hired a lawyer and wants public hearings when state regulators consider crucial permits. It wants more data collected on the impact of drawing the underground water.
Rhonda Huff said some lakes near Perrier’s proposed spring in Osceola County already are low.
“We seem to be having water trouble. Do we want to add to it?” she said. “Let’s do a little more research.”
The proposal would create about 200 jobs to bottle the water.
