Be Water Wise: A Groundwater-Saving Initiative

Over the last decade, Ottawa County residents and businesses have experienced issues related to groundwater, including reports of diminishing capacity and the presence of elevated levels of sodium chloride in some water wells.

Protecting Our Agricultural Heritage

With area farmers producing more than $726 million in products annually, Ottawa County is an agricultural powerhouse. Ottawa County also has a growing population and has a low unemployment rate. But this growth comes at a cost to agriculture: according to the most recent Ag Census, Ottawa County lost 8% of its farms and 16% of its farmed acreage. Ottawa County’s Farmland Preservation Program seeks to protect this vital industry and slow the loss of farms and farmland through programmatic efforts, including the Purchase of Development Rights Program.

Brownfield Redevelopment Initiatives

Brownfields are idle, underutilized, or vacant industrial or commercial properties where redevelopment is hindered by real or perceived environmental contamination, blight, or functional obsolescence. Many sites sit unused for decades because the cost of cleanup for these sites can be high and uncertain. DSI works to effectively deploy and promote state-authorized programs to stimulate economic growth.

2025 DSI Annual Report

Explore how our staff of skilled land use planners, data analysts, researchers, and more addressed complex problems, implemented solutions and provided vital information for County officials, local units of government, nonprofits and the general public this past year by perusing our first fully digital Annual Report.