Sector: County Government / Environmental Engineering / Public Health / Infrastructure Planning
🔥 The Challenge
Allegan County faced a complex and urgent challenge: 351 sites of groundwater concern, including leaky underground storage tanks (LUSTs), legacy industrial zones, and suspected PFAS hotspots. Each site carried potential risks to groundwater, ecosystems, and nearby communities — but not all sites were equal.
Traditional approaches relied on:
- Empirical judgment
- Gut feel and field intuition
- Limited datasets and static maps
Without calibrated simulation and integrated data, it was nearly impossible to:
- Compare sites objectively
- Forecast contaminant movement
- Allocate resources strategically
- Communicate risk with clarity
Allegan County needed a smarter way to see the system, rank the risks, and act with confidence.
💡 The MAGNET Solution
Allegan County deployed MAGNET4WATER, a secure, AI-enabled platform for multiscale modeling, visualization, and risk-based decision-making. The county built 24 regional groundwater simulators, each calibrated with thousands of static water level (SWL) measurements and live-linked to statewide and national datasets.
These simulators enabled:
- Instant particle tracking from each site
- Forward simulation of contaminant migration over 5-, 10-, and 20-year horizons
- Mapping of downstream impact zones
- Overlay with receptor data: public water wells, domestic wells, rivers, lakes, wetlands, and wellhead protection areas
- Risk scoring based on site type, aquifer vulnerability, and receptor exposure
All modeling was powered by live-linked big data layers, including:
- Topography
- Recharge
- Depth to water
- Soil and aquifer conductivity
- EPA’s national PFAS inventory
- Michigan’s LUST and contaminated site registries
- Receptor and infrastructure data from state and local sources
⚙️ Concrete MAGNET Capabilities
- Live-linked spatial fabric and stress framework for hydrogeologic realism
- Big data-enabled aquifer vulnerability mapping
- Instant particle tracking and forward simulation
- Risk-based prioritization dashboards
- Calibrated regional groundwater simulators
- Visual sensitivity analysis for stakeholder engagement
Secondary processes like diffusion, dispersion, and degradation were reserved for next-level investigations — ensuring resources focus where they matter most.
🧬 From Screening to Design — One Framework, Continuous Intelligence
MAGNET’s power lies in its continuity. The initial screening is not a throwaway step — it’s the foundation for everything that follows.
- Higher-resolution 3D groundwater modeling
- Integration of LiDAR and site-specific monitoring data
- Advanced fate and transport simulation
- Scenario testing for remediation design and long-term stewardship
This allows agencies to:
- Guide next-round data collection with precision
- Avoid redundant modeling efforts
- Accelerate cleanup design and permitting
- Maintain institutional memory and modeling integrity over time
👁️ Visualization as a Common Language
MAGNET’s visual sensitivity analysis turns complex modeling into shared understanding:
- Managers see trade-offs and priorities
- Citizens understand risks and protections
- Decision-makers gain clarity and confidence
- Collaborators align across disciplines and jurisdictions
Results can be published to a closed internal observatory or the global MAGNET observatory — accessible anywhere, anytime.
✅ Outcomes
- Targeted investigation and cleanup
- Accelerated decision-making
- Enhanced public health protection
- Significant cost savings
- Strategic clarity for county leadership
💬 Expert Testimony
“351 sites of groundwater concern were investigated... The entire simulation and impact area analysis was done at a fraction of the time and cost compared to traditional groundwater modeling studies... The knowledge afforded the work group by the M4W tool allows us to make decisions, earn public buy-in, and act with a high level of confidence and reduced risk.”
— Tom Kunetz, Environmental Engineer, Chair, Allegan County Groundwater Task Force
🏛️ From Modeling to Policy — MAGNET Informs Governance
The MAGNET-powered study catalyzed governance transformation. Allegan County formed a Groundwater Task Force to translate modeling into policy recommendations:
- Prioritize sites for investigation and cleanup
- Recommend funding allocations based on risk
- Propose updates to ordinances and permitting
- Engage the public with transparent communication
- Coordinate with state and federal agencies
🧭 A Springboard for Statewide and National Strategy
Allegan’s success is a template for scalable transformation. MAGNET supports:
- Michigan’s statewide PFAS and UST strategy
- EPA’s national contaminated site inventory
- DOD’s PFAS-impacted facilities
- Linked intelligence across counties and sectors
This is a networked solution — not a patchwork. A holistic strategy — not a site-by-site scramble.
🧠 The Bottom Line
MAGNET is not just a tool. It’s an infrastructure for transformation:
- Start fast with particle tracking
- Go deep with nested 3D modeling
- Refine continuously with new data
- Visualize clearly to build trust
- Scale smart across agencies and geographies
This is how we protect human health. This is how we spend wisely. This is how we