Water Use Data Management

As an increasing number of Water Management Areas in Michigan’s Water Withdrawal Assessment Tool (WWAT) restrict new wells, it is becoming more important for farmers to collect data about their use and its impacts to aquifers and surface waters. This data collection can not only help identify geological conditions to demonstrate whether a new use will impact nearby wells or streams but can also help farmers evaluate irrigation practices and technology. 

Data collection and modeling can be expensive, but farmers can work together to reduce costs: groups like the Midwest Water Stewards organize across a region, sharing services of consultants and using the data collected on each of their farms to improve modeling capability for the entire area. In other states, water use monitoring is helping in legal disputes: Florida and Georgia have battled in the courts for decades over access to the Apalachicola watershed, but farmers use well monitors to demonstrate their high-efficiency irrigation systems meet requirements for responsible use of the disputed waters. 

Whether the data is used to improve Michigan’s water use regulation or defend a farmer’s irrigation in a legal or regulatory challenge, farmers will increasingly need to collect and understand data about the water they use to improve crop yields and production reliability. 

Contact: Laura Campbell | 517-679-5332