1. Institute of Water Research
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Michigan’s Water Withdrawal Assessment Tool
Sustainable Water Supplies: Preserving and Conserving a Critical Resource
One Water Action Forum – Dec 12, 2018
Jeremiah Asher, Assistant Director
Institute of Water Research
Michigan State University
12/12/2018
125 5,500 35,000

2. Great Lakes Compact
(Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact)
• 10 year anniversary of legislation that prevents diversions of water from the Great
Lakes (Dec 8, 2008)
• The compact details how the states manage the use of the Great Lakes Basin's water
supply and builds on the 1985 Great Lakes Charter and its 2001 Annex.
• Interstate Agreement between Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York,
Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
• Focus on:
• Preventing significant adverse resource impacts
• Ban on new or increase diversions from the Great Lakes
• Protection and efficient management of water resources

3. 1981 Powder River Coal Company divert GL water to Wyoming
1982 USACOE studies diversion from GL to replenish Ogallala Aquifer
2001 Michigan Billboard – Concern for diversions of water from the Great Lakes

4. Managing Michigan’s Water Resources
2006 and 2009 Michigan Water use legislation PA 33-36
Require large capacity water withdrawers (over 70 gpm)
to use of a screening tool to assess withdrawal impacts
Withdrawals could have no adverse resource impact
Water Withdrawal Assessment Tool

5. Unique Approach
Groundwater Advisory Council – representing
stakeholders from industry, agricultural, state, non profit
and universities
Goal to use science to inform policy, prevent adverse
resource impacts, and minimize the burden of the
applicant and state to permit every proposed new high
capacity withdrawal

6. Accounting
Database
Management
Zones
Groundwater
Depletion
Model
Fish
Response
Model
Stream Flow
Models Registration
A B C D
User Proposed Withdrawal
MDEQ, MDNR, USGS, MSU-IWR
Developed a screening tool to
assess the impact of new high
capacity water withdrawals > 70
gpm

7. 0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1
Proportion of index flow removed
Proportion
A B C D
Adverse Resource Impact
Gradient of increasing risk
Interpreting the Fish Curves With an Eye to Policy
Characteristic Fish
Thriving Fish
90%
80%

11. Use of Water Withdrawal Assessment Tool
• Nearly 5,000 registrations and site specific reviews
0
10
20
30
40
50
2009201020112012201320142015201620172018
PERCENT
YEAR
Percent of Withdrawals Needing
Site Review
24
80 105
275 294
204
156 165 190 162100
232
341
588 594
351
221
307 240 228
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Registrations and Site Reviews by
Year
Site Review Registration
• Michigan has riparian water rights, so if a watershed is
depleted, water user committees are to be formed

12. Questions