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Water Use Program

A wild rice marsh in a Michigan river delta
Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy

Water Use Program

Michigan and the other Great Lakes states and provinces have each enacted laws that regulate water uses within the Great Lakes Basin. The laws are in accordance with the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact and a parallel international Agreement to manage the groundwater and surface water resources within the Great Lakes Basin, and to prohibit diversions outside the Basin. The Water Use Program is responsible for registering large quantity withdrawals, collecting annual water use data, making determinations on the potential impacts to water resources as a result of proposed withdrawals, and processing water withdrawal permits. The information managed by the Water Use Program provides an environmental baseline for managing water resources in an integrated manner and strengthens the legal basis for opposing unwarranted diversions of Great Lakes water.