After fighting back against bottled water giant Nestle, residents and concerned citizens near Evart now are trying to keep another company from drawing down and potentially contaminating their water supply.

Just six miles from Nestle's wells, Michigan Potash, a Colorado-based company, is seeking permits to drill 11 injection wells for a potash-mining operation.

Potash, a mineral element, is naturally occurring in Michigan and used in many forms of fertilizer.

Ken Ford is a wildlife manager, he says the process could potentially draw down the water tables, dry up local streams and rivers, and reduce the flow into the Muskegon River.

"It requires 1,200 gallons per minute of fresh, clean water - drinking water - to create these potash cavities," Ford said. "So 1,200 gallons per minute equates to 1,728,000 gallons per day."

As part of the process, the freshwater is mixed with mined salts and the hot, brined solution is pumped under high pressure to refineries and disposal wells.

A permitting hearing was held before the EPA in January, but no decision has been made.