COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Branch County is now an active member of a tri-state group consisting of the nine counties affected by the Michindoh Aquifer following formal action by the Branch County Board of Commissioners Tuesday.
The group is known as the Ohio, Michigan, Indiana Council of Government. Steuben, Hillsdale, Defiance and Williams Counties signed on in late July.
Branch County Administrator Bud Norman said the primary focus of the group will be to identify the aquifer boundaries through scientific studies for the purpose of future monitoring.
The group will be meeting in Williams County, Ohio on Thursday. Branch County Administrator Bud Norman said during last Friday’s work session that he and Drain Commissioner Mike Hard plan to attend that meeting.
Commissioners gave Norman and Hard permission to travel out of state during Tuesday’s meeting.
The Michindoe Aquifer, which serves a portion of Branch and Hillsdale Counties, has been a source of controversy for residents in three states over the last few years due to a plan by Artesian of Pioneer, Ohio to drill a production well near Fayette, Ohio.
Artesian has been pursued by several Toledo suburbs to test drill the aquifer to see if it’s possible to sell drinking water to them.
The aquifer covers over two million acres and provides water to about 400,000 people.
Some feel the aquifer has the potential to provide water for the next 40 years to at least eight other communities. But those in opposition fear the drilling will cause wells to dry up and that the water in Aquifer belongs to the public.
