Last Chance To Report Water Use To Meet Michigan’s Requirements

April 1 represents another “last chance” deadline for large volume water users in Michigan to report their surface or groundwater withdrawals and “grandfather” in their usage before new rules come into effect in June.

Growers were first asked to establish their baseline water use in April 2007, using water use in 2006 as the benchmark, according to Lyndon Kelley, Michigan State University/Purdue Extension educator for irrigation water management

Last July, new legislation was passed and a new deadline set for Feb. 1. But this latest deadline, April 1, is expected to be the real “last chance.”

New legislation was enacted in Michigan to improve the management of the Great Lakes basin water resources to conform to the goals of the Great Lakes Compact. The Great Lakes Compact became federal law last October.

Michigan has had registration and reporting requirements since 2006 requiring the registration of new large volume water withdrawals (greater than 70 gallons per minute capacity). A registration is filed at the time of construction to establish the specific location, owner/operator and rated or baseline capacity of the water withdrawal. Annual reporting then follows, with a monthly breakdown of the actual amount of water used.

After June 9, proposed new large quantity water withdrawals must receive a favorable assessment from “Michigan’s Water Withdrawal Assessment Tool” or approval from a requested site-specific review by the Michigan Department of Envionmental Qualilty and be registered before proceeding.

Under the grandfathering arrangement, withdrawal levels in 2006 and before become a floor, but the test for new withdrawals addresses future “adverse resource impact.” A person who knowingly makes a new or increased large quantity withdrawal that causes an adverse resource impact may be subject to a civil fine of up to $10,000 per day of violation.

The water withdrawal assessment tool was developed based on studies by Michigan State University and state government to identify the nature of fish populations in rivers and streams in every watershed and determine the water flow needed to maintain fish populations. Irrigation from wells or surface waters can affect water levels in lakes and streams and create an “adverse impact.”

Michigan’s Water Withdrawal Assessment Tool is available at www.miwwat.org. Forms for reporting water use history are available at www.michigan.gov/mda.

On March 23 MSU Extension and the Michigan Groundwater Stewardship Program are hosting an informational meeting on Michigan’s changing water policy. The meeting will be at the VanBuren Skill Center in Lawerence, Mich., from 3 to 5:30 p.m. For more information, call Lyndon Kelley, MSU/Purdue Extension Educator, Irrigation Water Management at 269-467-5511.