>Fresh water is indeed a limited resource. Just because you have it in plenty, it doesn't mean that commercial entity is incapable of drying it out thin.
I'm not sure you've been to Michigan. They aren't pumping this out of an aquifer.
I'm not sure you've been to Michigan. They aren't pumping this out of an aquifer.
> About 60 percent of the supply comes from Mecosta’s springs
First google result for "Mecosta springs"
> The Nestle/Perrier/Great Spring Waters of America/Ice Mountain bottling plant in Stanwood, Mecosta County, began production on May 23, 2002, extracting groundwater from the Muskegon aquifer that qualifies as a source of “spring water” under federal law.
Fresh water is abundant on the surface, yes, but it's much cheaper (and tastier) to pump water that's been purified by long filtration through the ground than to pull it from a lake or river and process it.
This process is sustainable within the state. But even if you include all the vast reserves of surface water into consideration, the ecosystem can't sustain irrigating the southwest. We have plenty of lovely farms up here; stop trying to grow crops where they don't belong!
5% of 1/80th of a single river's discharge, for the entire region. I think the parent commenter has the better argument.
From what I can tell, the plastic is a bigger concern here than the water.