Researchers at Hope College are running in high gear in
pinpointing the sources of pollution entering Lake Macatawa,
hoping within a year to 18 months to have answers that will
enable the community to start finding solutions. Their efforts
are focusing on the large quantities of sediment pouring into
the lake and the high levels of E. coli bacteria. The research
is being conducted with funding from a major grant to the
Outdoor Discovery Center Macatawa Greenway, announced earlier
this week, that is engaging multiple organizations, including
Hope, in resolving problems that have plagued the lake for
years. Led by faculty members Dr. Graham Peaslee and Dr. Michael
Pikaart, the work at Hope is involving more than a dozen current
students, two recent graduates, a high school teacher and two
high school students, a post-doctoral researcher and a cohort of
approximately eight community volunteers collecting samples. The
research is spread across seven laboratories in two buildings,
taking the process from organizin