The City of Norton Shores and Fruitport Township this month agreed to hire an engineering firm that will plan and design the infrastructure necessary for the municipalities to connect to the City of Muskegon’s water system by 2015.

Norton Shores and Fruitport Township already share an underground water main connection, linking their communities. They have hired international firm URS Corp. for $793,594 to develop plans for linking their water systems to the city of Muskegon's.