Protecting and Promoting Your Interests
Water Use Advisory Council - Call for Technical Experts
As reported a few months ago, Doug Needham, MAA President, was appointed to the Michigan Water Use Advisory Council. This council is established under Part 328 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act to study and make recommendations to the Quality of Life (QOL) agencies (EGLE, Department of Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) on Michigan's Water Use Program, which includes the following major elements: the Great Lakes Compact; water withdrawal regulations; and water use conflict.
The Council provides a forum for discussion of the following broad areas that were identified by previous councils, stakeholder groups, and QOL staff:
- Water conservation and efficiency goals, objectives and voluntary measures
- Technical underpinnings of the process, tools, data, assumptions and decision end-points used to determine whether proposed water withdrawals can be authorized
- Technical and compliance assistance
- Methods and tools to assist water users in resolving and preventing conflicts
- Environmental monitoring to identify and help reconcile potential discrepancies between the program's decision making and data management protocols and the real-world impacts of withdrawals
- New and emerging water use categories
- Outcomes and metrics for determining the program success
As this council begins to review and make recommendations regarding the Michigan’s Water Use Program, they are making a call to individuals that would be interested in being named as an official technical advisor to the council.
Technical advisors are encouraged to become engaged in council activities and participate in council meetings, committees, or subgroups created by the council and provide information and guidance. However, advisors will not be able to vote on recommendations made by the council.
If you are interested in becoming an official technical advisor to Michigan’s Water Use Advisory Council, please contact Doug Needham at the MAA office at (517) 381-1732 or
dneedham@miagg.org