By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
Zeeland Township will support the next phase of efforts to improve water quality in the Macatawa Watershed and on Lake Macatawa.
The Township Board Sept. 1 voted unanimously to approve a contract with the ODC Network, where the township will contribute $20,000 to the nonprofit’s Project Clarity cleanup effort for each of the next five years, starting in 2027.
“The contract is really more about making the expenditure legal, because you’re dealing with a nonprofit,” Interim Township Manager Howard Fink said. “So, you need to tie that back to the statute and tie that back to a specific value-for-value exchange of services.”
The board also left the door open for an additional contribution, if ODC Network undertakes targeted efforts with township farmers to help reduce the amount of sediment and nutrient entering the watershed.
ODC Network representatives last month gave presentations to both the Township Board and Zeeland City Council, asking for funding support for the third phase of Project Clarity, an effort to reduce phosphorus levels in the watershed and on Lake Macatawa that has been ongoing for nearly 15 years.
The communities in the watershed area are under a directive from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), dating back nearly 30 years, to reduce phosphorus in the area and running off into Lake Macatawa. Even with the success of Project Clarity to date, those levels still exceed EGLE standards.
“I do think $20,000 (a year) is reasonable, and it is disappointing when there’s clearly enough evidence and science to suggest that Zeeland Township has been a significant contributor to the problem of phosphorus runoff,” Township Trustee Dave Barry said.
Barry also suggested the idea of an additional contribution of $10,000, “but I would want specifically earmarked for the Zeeland Township communication, education, training, monitoring … for the rivers and streams and runoff so that we have really good data to see where the issues are,” he said.
Zeeland Record
Zeeland Township will support the next phase of efforts to improve water quality in the Macatawa Watershed and on Lake Macatawa.
The Township Board Sept. 1 voted unanimously to approve a contract with the ODC Network, where the township will contribute $20,000 to the nonprofit’s Project Clarity cleanup effort for each of the next five years, starting in 2027.
“The contract is really more about making the expenditure legal, because you’re dealing with a nonprofit,” Interim Township Manager Howard Fink said. “So, you need to tie that back to the statute and tie that back to a specific value-for-value exchange of services.”
The board also left the door open for an additional contribution, if ODC Network undertakes targeted efforts with township farmers to help reduce the amount of sediment and nutrient entering the watershed.
ODC Network representatives last month gave presentations to both the Township Board and Zeeland City Council, asking for funding support for the third phase of Project Clarity, an effort to reduce phosphorus levels in the watershed and on Lake Macatawa that has been ongoing for nearly 15 years.
The communities in the watershed area are under a directive from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), dating back nearly 30 years, to reduce phosphorus in the area and running off into Lake Macatawa. Even with the success of Project Clarity to date, those levels still exceed EGLE standards.
“I do think $20,000 (a year) is reasonable, and it is disappointing when there’s clearly enough evidence and science to suggest that Zeeland Township has been a significant contributor to the problem of phosphorus runoff,” Township Trustee Dave Barry said.
Barry also suggested the idea of an additional contribution of $10,000, “but I would want specifically earmarked for the Zeeland Township communication, education, training, monitoring … for the rivers and streams and runoff so that we have really good data to see where the issues are,” he said.
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