March 2, 2006

Department of Environmental Quality Director Steven E. Chester today applauded the work of the Groundwater Conservation Advisory Council in completing its final report to the Legislature.

The report contains 27 specific recommendations designed to protect and manage Michigan’s groundwater resources, five of which are critical to Michigan’s success:

• Establishing criteria and indicators to evaluate the sustainability of
  groundwater resources;

• Developing and implementing a statewide groundwater-level monitoring
  network;

• Developing a statewide assessment tool that identifies surface water
  and aquatic ecosystems potentially at risk to large groundwater
  withdrawals;

• Revising the water dispute resolution statute to allow the DEQ to take
  action to mitigate a proposed large capacity withdrawal when adverse
  effects on small capacity wells are expected; and

• Providing on-going support for the new Groundwater Inventory and
  Mapping data system, a one-of-a-kind Web-based statewide
  groundwater information system.

The recent package of water withdrawal bills signed by Governor Jennifer M. Granholm will address several of these identified recommendations.

“Michigan’s new water protection laws, combined with future actions to address the report’s recommendations, will greatly improve our ability to protect the state’s valuable water resources,” said Director Chester.

The Groundwater Conservation Advisory Council was created in 2003 and charged with studying the sustainability of the state’s groundwater use, monitoring Annex 2001 implementation efforts, and studying the implementation of, and the results from, Michigan’s groundwater dispute resolution program.

Editor’s note: DEQ news releases are available on the department’s Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

“Protecting Michigan’s Environment, Ensuring Michigan’s Future”

Revised March 2, 2006 by Linda Crawford for Pat Watson