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Old natural resource to spur new growth

Chris Burnett, For The Miami Student

City of Hamilton and Butler County officials hope to capitalize on an old asset, the Great Miami Valley Buried Aquifer.

The aquifer, a two to three-mile wide basin located beneath the Great Miami River, has the capability to provide up to 300 million gallons of water per day.

Because of the aquifer's location, water naturally seeps through sand and gravel deposits under the Great Miami River to replenish it daily. Also, the sand and gravel act as a natural filtration system, so only high quality water fills in the aquifer. Currently, just 100 million gallons are used for residents and businesses throughout Butler County. New development and marketing strategies hope to attract "high-water" business to the area, which could bring in hundreds of billions of dollars of private development.

"High-water" businesses are those that require very large amounts of water for the production of their goods.

Dole, for example, requires large amounts of water to process lettuce and vegetables for salads as well as for its fruit juices. Computer giant Intel uses water as a coolant for the machines that manufacture micro-processors, much like a car engine.

But why would this aquifer help bring these manufacturing facilities to the area? The answer is that access to cheap, high-quality water is a commodity in the United States.

"We hardly think of water as being limited when we turn on the faucet, but the amount of water a community requires pales in comparison to the amount large manufacturing centers need to operate," said Dayton Development Coalition Vice President of Stakeholder Relations Maureen Paterson. "This gives Hamilton an edge compared to other regions across the country."

Butler County Senior Planner Joseph Schmidt has been working on the project for over a year. "We've never really thought about using the aquifer this way before," Schmidt said. "It's just not something you think about every day. We're just now starting to market this thing."

Schmidt said the aquifer provides other benefits to businesses.

"Current zoning regulations already protect the aquifer from pollution and overuse, so tapping into the available 200 million gallons per day will not harm the environment," he said. "Plus, the companies we attract will also be interested in preserving the aquifer for future use.

Miami University first-year Brigette Schutzman is very excited for this project.

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"I think it's great we'll be getting some manufacturing jobs back in the community," Shutzman said.