Restoring Great Lakes Basin Waters Through the Use of Conservation Credits and an

Integrated Water Balance Analysis System

Institute of Water Research, Michigan State UniversityGreat Lakes Protection Fund

4th ADVISORY TEAM MEETINGMonday, February 13, 2006 (9:30 – 3:30)(Corniche Room, Kellogg Center, MSU)

Restoring Great Lakes Basin Water Through the Use of Conservation Credits and an Integrated

Water Balance Analysis System

Principal Investigators Dr. Jon F. Bartholic

The Institute of Water Research &

Dr. Sandra S. BatieDept. of Agricultural EconomicsMichigan State University

Funding Source: The Great Lakes Protection FundProject Duration: 24 monthsStarting Date: January 2005

Project goal

• Overall project goal is to explore the necessary conditions for a science-based decision support system that will assist policy decision makers involved with ground water management in Great Lakes Basin restoration.

• Case Study approach

Spatial Limitation and Assumptions

• With the spatial limitation on state-wide modeling, we are interested in protecting critical fish habitat from groundwater withdrawals. The Augusta Creek Watershed is selected as a case study. Trout is the key species to protect. We look at the impact of water withdrawals on groundwater discharge (water quantity) and its affect on trout and their habitats.

Augusta Creek Watershed 2001 Land Use/Cover

Specific Objective

• Our specific objective is to provide science-based information to assist in making better decisions with respect to ground water withdrawal management in critical watersheds of Michigan to protect trout habitats.

Gathering Inputs for Development & Improvement

Identifying Market based Alternatives

Developing a Decision Support System “Water Balance Analysis System”

Surface Hydrology

Model

Aquifer Model

Aquatic Ecosystem Model

Environmental/Conservation Organization Business/Industry/Utilities Agriculture State Planners State governmentCitizens

Inputs from Advisory TeamComprised of Reps. From: Law, regulations, and

institutions Identification of Alternatives Impact of Alternatives on

Trout SurvivalIdentification of Offsets and Mitigation and Impacts Monitoring • Dispute Resolution

Implementing a Market Based Alternatives System

Site Selection

Developing a Web Site for Transactions

Web-Site for Transactions

User Assistance Interface

Market-based Alternatives(A Hypothetical Demonstration

Project)

Market-based Alternatives(A Hypothetical Demonstration

Project)

User Assistance Interface

Vulnerability Mapping

Developing a User Assistance Interface

Database Integration

Central Tracking Database

System Linkage and Flows of the Entire Study Process

Current Advisory Team Members

Representatives from:Consumers Energy Great Lakes National Resource

Center, National Wildlife Federation

Michigan Turf Grass Foundation National Association of Conservation Districts

Ice Mountain Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Trout Unlimited Michigan Department of Agriculture

Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council Michigan Department of Environmental Quality

Michigan Farm Bureau Office of the Great Lakes, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality

Public Sector Consultants Inc. Michigan Municipal League

Michigan United Conservation Clubs Michigan Manufacturers Association

Three major project components

• Water Balance Analysis System

• Market-Based Alternatives

• User Assistance Interface

First project component

“Water Balance Analysis System”• Identify critical watershed• Integrated assessments • Dynamic with trade-offs• Impacts of land-use changes on water

surface/ground water and groundwater withdraws on base flow and trout habitat

Second project component

“Market-based Alternatives”

• Identify the necessary market conditions and legal framework necessary for a market based alternatives

• With a hypothetical case embedded with real data from Augusta Creek watershed, examine alternative market based mechanisms for maintaining a safe minimum standard of water temperature for brook trout.

• Examine mitigation and offset alternatives and their impacts on water temperature and trout survival

Third project component

“User Assistant Interface”

• Develop a User Assistance Interface which identifies critical habitat by clear watershed boundaries

• Provide information on impact on cost of mitigation and offsets

Project Team

Site Visit, Augusta Creek Watershed, September 21, 2005

Evolution in Ground Water Allocation: State Experiences

William E. CoxCivil and Environmental Engineering

Virginia Tech

Trading Programs for Trading Programs for Environmental Environmental

Protection: Lessons Protection: Lessons and Experiencesand Experiences

Kurt Kurt StephensonStephenson

Virginia TechVirginia TechMay12, 2005May12, 2005

Today’s Meeting Goals

• Update on project progress and water policy issues• Discuss the use of the Assessment Tool for

assisting the permitting process and how our project components fit within this tool

• Demonstrate the impacts of management scenarios on base flow in the Augusta Creek using ground water model

• Suggestions for future development of the “User Assistance Interface”

Today’s AgendaToday’s Agenda

9:30 Welcome, Updates, Agenda, and the Context and Components of the Project (Jon Bartholic/Sandra Batie)

9:40 Growing Water (David Rankin)

9:50 Ground Water Resource Management in MI (Bill Rustem)

10:00 Assessment Tool: Water Balance Analysis System and Water Conservation Offset Trading Process

Overview (Jon Bartholic) Illustration of the Process (Jeremiah Asher) Evaluation/Screening (Steve Miller) Experts & Additional Models (Modeling Team) Mitigations/Credits Offsets (Sandra Batie/Mike Kaplowitz)

11:30 Discussion

12:00 Lunch

1:00 Case Study: the Water Balance Analysis System/Integration Results and Applications for the Augusta Creek Watershed (Steve Miller)

1:15 Demonstration the Use of Water Balance Analysis System for Conservation Credit Offsets

(Bill Northcott/Shu-Guang Li/Lizhu Wan)

2:15 Discussion

3:10 Next Steps and Next Meeting(Jon Bartholic and Sandra Batie)

3:30 Adjourn