Michigan greenlights $17M water project to fuel Coopersville growth, Fairlife expansion

COOPERSVILLE — A massive overhaul of West Michigan’s water infrastructure is officially underway after the Michigan Strategic Fund board approved a $17 million grant for the city of Coopersville on March 24.

The funding helps create a regional water system upgrade designed to ease a 50-year-old utility bottleneck and pave the way for a major expansion at Coopersville-based ultra-filtered milk producer Fairlife.

The project is expected to create 150 new jobs while securing 400 existing roles at the company’s local facility.

Replacing an aging lifeline

For decades, Coopersville has relied on a single, 16-inch water main installed more than half a century ago.

Local officials say the aging line has become a primary obstacle to housing, commerce and industrial scaling.

The new grant will fund the installation of a 20-inch transmission main and an additional storage tank, increasing the city's capacity by 1.1 million gallons of water per day.

The announcement represents the first phase of a broader $47 million three-part infrastructure plan, with the remaining costs to be covered by community service agreements and major industrial users.

"Investments like this strengthen the region well beyond a single project," said Jennifer Owens, president of Lakeshore Advantage, which worked alongside the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to help secure the funding and resource requirements for the project.

"Reliable infrastructure and a strong supply chain are essential for the Lakeshore’s growing agribusiness cluster," Owens said.

Helping Michigan agriculture

The impact of the upgrade extends beyond the factory floor.

Because the food manufacturing sector relies heavily on a robust supply chain, experts project that for every direct job created at the Fairlife facility, 10 additional dairy jobs will be supported across the state to meet increased production demands.

Current data from Lightcast, which provides labor market analytics, suggests the food manufacturing cluster in Ottawa and Allegan counties already supports over 7,000 jobs with average annual earnings of approximately $87,000.

Although the project is centered in Coopersville, the benefits are expected to benefit neighboring municipalities, including Polkton Township, Allendale Charter Township and Tallmadge Township.

Patrick Staskiewicz, public utilities director at the Ottawa County Road Commission, noted that the expansion would also help stabilize utility rates for users of the Grand Rapids Water and Muskegon County Wastewater systems by maintaining a high-volume industrial user base.

"This project is not only about improving essential services for our residents," said Coopersville City Manager Dennis Luce. "It positions us for continued economic growth and supports one of our largest employers, which is a significant win for the agricultural community."

— Submitted by Lakeshore Advantage. To submit a news tip, email newsroom@ottawanewsnetwork.org.