USGS testing water levels near controversial Nestle well

Nestle stream gauge

Water level gauge in a feeder stream to Chippewa Creek in Evart, Mich., on Wednesday, March 22, 2017. Nestle Waters North America received permission in 2018 to increase pumping capacity on a well near the creek headwaters in Osceola County.MLive/The Grand Rapids Press

EVART, MI — Federal scientists are now measuring water levels where Nestle plans to increase its groundwater extraction for bottling under a controversial permit issued by Michigan regulators last year.

According to Nestle Waters North America, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is collecting data at two spring-fed creeks near Evart that flow by a high-capacity well from which the company sources groundwater for sale under its Ice Mountain spring brand.

Although the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), formerly known as the DEQ, approved Nestle’s request to boost extraction on the well last spring, the company has yet to actually increase its water withdrawal rate.

Regulators must approve Nestle’s plan to monitor water levels and streamflow around the wellhead before it can increase extraction. Nestle submitted those plans in April.

Nestle says USGS will provide objective third-party data. The company says it requested the monitoring, which it jointly funds with EGLE.

The federal science agency, which is part of the U.S. Dept. of Interior, has installed underground equipment in two spots near Nestle’s White Pine Springs well which can record and transmit data about water quantity, conditions and streamflow in real-time.

The data is available on the USGS National Water Information System.

“Some have raised questions regarding the impact of our operations on the environment,” said Ice Mountain water plant spokesperson Arlene Anderson-Vincent.

“While we are confident in the sustainability of our operations, we have asked a respected, third-party scientific agency to conduct their own monitoring. We are optimistic that this additional independent data collection will provide valuable information to the public about Twin and Chippewa Creeks,” Anderson-Vincent said.

Nestle’s permit to increase extraction from 250 to 400 gallons-per-minute (gpm) on the well is highly unpopular in Michigan, particularly after the drinking water crisis in Flint.

Nestle pays about $800 in annual paperwork fees to withdraw millions of gallons from wellfields in Osceola and Mecosta counties.

Michigan law allows Nestle to withdrawal groundwater from underneath its property for free provided the extraction doesn’t harm the environment or dry up neighboring wells.

The permit was challenged last summer in state administrative court by the Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation (MCWC) and Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.

The MCWC and tribe says regulators improperly approved previous incremental extraction rate increases on Nestle’s well that skirted public review and did not follow state law.

They say DEQ (now EGLE) failed to obtain required data on existing conditions in the field and, instead, relied on Nestle-supplied data and computer models when approving the permit.

In February, state administrative law judge Dan Pulter denied Nestle and EGLE’s motion to dismiss the challenge, which paved the way for a bench trial-like hearing. That hearing runs May 20 to 28, according to the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.

Regardless of the outcome, attorneys in the case say appeals are expected in state circuit court.

A separate local zoning case between Nestle and Osceola Township related to water pipeline infrastructure serving the controversial wellhead is pending at the state court of appeals.

In May 2018, Nestle began supplying bottled water to Flint. The company says the supply will continue until this August and is expected to top 6.5 million bottles by that time.

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