Science as a fundamental framework for shaping policy discussions regarding the use of groundwater in the State of Michigan: a case study

Water Policy ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan D. Steinman ◽  
James R. Nicholas ◽  
Paul W. Seelbach ◽  
Jon W. Allan ◽  
Frank Ruswick
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
The United States ◽  
The State ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Water Withdrawal ◽  
Advisory Council ◽  
Great Lakes Basin

The availability and use of freshwater is a growing concern in the United States and around the globe. Despite apparently abundant water resources, several conflicts over water use have emerged in the Great Lakes region and the State of Michigan. These conflicts resulted in state legislation that both addresses water withdrawal from the Great Lakes Basin and requires the State of Michigan to begin a process to address the sustainability of water resources. The former resulted in Michigan's support of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Water Resources Compact, whereas the latter resulted in the formation of a Groundwater Conservation Advisory Council. This paper focuses primarily on the Council, describing its formation, and the products it generated. In particular, we focus on the development of indicators of sustainable use of water, the creation of a water withdrawal assessment process to determine if a proposed withdrawal will create an adverse resource impact in the state, and how the lessons learned in Michigan may be applied to other units of government addressing similar issues. Attention is also given to the Compact, as it provides important context for the Council's formation.

scholarly journals The Legal Impact of the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement on Canadian Water Exports

2005 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 705-762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Dufour
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
Free Trade Agreement ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
The United States ◽  
Great Lakes Basin ◽  
Water Transfers ◽  
Future Supply

In recent years, the issue of Canadian water exports has assumed a prominent position on the policy agenda of both Canada and the United States. As water supplies in several western states of the U.S.A. have been increasingly depleted over the past three decades, the threat of a water crisis has raised interest in the possibility of diverting Canadian waters, originating presumably in the Great Lakes Basin. While the beginning of the 1980s has already witnessed a number of heated debates over Great Lakes water transfers, the signing of the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement on the 2nd of January 1988, revives the polemic since it is viewed by some as a new menace to the future supply of Canadian waters. The present paper, which is divided in two parts, begins with an examination of a number of events which have raised significant concern about the prospect of major water transfers from the Great Lakes Basin, the latest being the conclusion of the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement. It then analyses the legal effects of the Agreement on Canadian water resources. This study concludes that there is nothing in the deal to suggest that Canada has in any way conceded future access to its water resources to the United States.

Water Governance and Management in Indus Basin - Challenges & Threats

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marium Sara Minhas Bandeali
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
The State ◽  
Indus Basin

Water governance and management are important challenges for the River Indus Basin in Pakistan. Water governance refers to social, political and economic factors that influence water management. The water scarcity and water security are a major concern for the state to control its water resources. The study aims to give Sindh water policy by exploring the challenges to Indus Basin in managing water resources and to identify opportunities Indus Basin can look to improve water management. Interviews were conducted from water experts and analysts having 5 years’ experience or more in the water sector of Pakistan through a semi-structured self-developed questionnaire using purposive sampling technique and transcripts were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The findings show that increasing population, climatic change and rising demand of water are major challenges Indus is facing and Indus with time is getting water-scarce therefore need strong institutions, civil society and legislatures to ensure equitable distribution of water and maintain the ecosystem. The study emphasizes that water governance and management are necessary for sustainable use of water. Pakistan, the water stress country needs to address ‘governance’ at a wider scale to solve problems in the Indus Basin for the livelihood of people. The research will benefit the state, water experts, institutions as well as civil society to promote efficient use of water in Indus Basin.

scholarly journals Basic criteria for a sustainable water management at the U.S.-México border: the case of ambos Nogales

2003 ◽  
Vol 4 (7) ◽  
pp. 35-60
Author(s):  
Luis Ernesto Cervera Gómez ◽  
Rodolfo Rubio Salas
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Perspective ◽  
Development Environment ◽  
Quality Of Water ◽  
Mexico Border ◽  
Ambos Nogales

This article aims to analyze some basic criteria for a sustainable use of water in an international watershed shared by Mexico and the United States. The study area comprises the region of Ambos Nogales, which is located inside the Upper Santa Cruz River Basin. This portion of the watershed represents the main ecosystem and the main source of water for urban and rural populations located in this region. Following criteria of sustainability the authors revise and adapt to the case of Ambos Nogales, a set of guidelines proposed by the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security. These guidelines include the following elements: basic water requirements needed to maintain quality of life in the population and the health of ecosystems; water quality that meets certain minimum standards; human actions and their impact on long-term renewability of freshwater stocks and flows; collection of data concerning water resources, use and quality of water; institutional mechanisms to prevent and resolve conflicts; and a democratic process of water-planning and decision-making. These twin cities have a long history of cooperation and conflict linked to water resources, which makes available enough information to create a diagnostic about the water management inside a binational arena, and allowing to explore possibilities for a better water resources management under a sustainable regime and from an international perspective. Keywords: Sustainability, binational water management, ambos Nogales region.

scholarly journals The Tennessee Men’s Health Report Card: A Model for Men’s Health Policy Advocacy and Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 155798831988258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek M. Griffith ◽  
Andrea R. Semlow ◽  
Mike Leventhal ◽  
Clare Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Medical Center ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Men’S Health ◽  
Report Card ◽  
The State ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Men's Health ◽  
Health Report ◽  
Vanderbilt University

Tennessee is the only state in the United States that has regularly published a document monitoring men’s health and assessing men’s health disparities. Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, the Tennessee Department of Health, Meharry Medical College, Tennessee Men’s Health Network, and health providers and advocates across the state have come together to publish a set of indicators as the Tennessee Men’s Health Report Card (TMHRC). This article describes the origins, structure, development, and lessons learned from publishing report cards in 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2017. The report card highlights statistically significant changes in trends over time, identifies racial, ethnic, age, and geographic differences among men, highlights connections to regional and statewide public health initiatives, and suggests priorities for improving men’s health in Tennessee. State data were compared to Healthy People 2020 Objectives and graded based on the degree of discrepancy between the goal and the current reality for Tennessee men. Over the four iterations of the report card, the TMHRC team has made significant adjustments to the ways they analyze and present the data, utilize grades and graphics, consider the implications of the data for the economic well-being of the state, and disseminate the findings across the state to different stakeholders. It is important to go beyond creating a summary of information; rather, data should be shared in ways that are easily understood, actionable, and applicable to different audiences. It is also critical to highlight promising policy and programmatic initiatives to improve men’s health in the state.

scholarly journals Assessment of impact of climate change on water resources: a long term analysis of the Great Lakes of North America

2008 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 239-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. McBean ◽  
H. Motiee
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
North America ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
Great Lakes Basin ◽  
Historical Trends ◽  
Global Circulation Models ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. In the threshold of the appearance of global warming from theory to reality, extensive research has focused on predicting the impact of potential climate change on water resources using results from Global Circulation Models (GCMs). This research carries this further by statistical analyses of long term meteorological and hydrological data. Seventy years of historical trends in precipitation, temperature, and streamflows in the Great Lakes of North America are developed using long term regression analyses and Mann-Kendall statistics. The results generated by the two statistical procedures are in agreement and demonstrate that many of these variables are experiencing statistically significant increases over a seven-decade period. The trend lines of streamflows in the three rivers of St. Clair, Niagara and St. Lawrence, and precipitation levels over four of the five Great Lakes, show statistically significant increases in flows and precipitation. Further, precipitation rates as predicted using fitted regression lines are compared with scenarios from GCMs and demonstrate similar forecast predictions for Lake Superior. Trend projections from historical data are higher than GCM predictions for Lakes Michigan/Huron. Significant variability in predictions, as developed from alternative GCMs, is noted. Given the general agreement as derived from very different procedures, predictions extrapolated from historical trends and from GCMs, there is evidence that hydrologic changes particularly for the precipitation in the Great Lakes Basin may be demonstrating influences arising from global warming and climate change.

scholarly journals Policy reforms to promote efficient and sustainable water use in Swiss agriculture

Water Policy ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 887-901 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Finger ◽  
Niklaus Lehmann
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Water Saving ◽  
Water Withdrawal ◽  
Policy Reforms ◽  
Environmental Laws ◽  
Scarce Water ◽  
Irrigated Crops ◽  
Irrigation Technologies

The more sustainable use of scarce water resources is a policy goal in several countries. In this regard, current discussions on potential policy reforms in Switzerland revolve around the subsidization of water-saving irrigation technologies. Today, the share of drip irrigation systems is low, at 3%. In Switzerland, environmental laws specify levels of water flow that must not be undercut. Variable pricing of water, however, has not yet been used. This paper analyzes whether subsidies on water-saving irrigation techniques would be beneficial in this legislative setting, and shows that such subsidies may have crowding out effects because they could provide incentives to switch from non-irrigated crops (e.g. wheat) to the production of crops (e.g. potatoes) that require irrigation. This may result in even higher water withdrawal rates. Such an increased competition for water resources may also result in adverse conditions for farmers. By contrast, our analysis shows the implementation of water prices could lead to a sustainable increase in the share of water-saving technologies, to a shift from irrigated to non-irrigated crops, and therefore to a reduction of overall water use in agriculture. Thus, the introduction of water prices should have absolute priority if agricultural water policies are reformed in Switzerland.

scholarly journals Institutional Framework for Assessing Water Availability and Allocation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph Wurbs
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Water Allocation ◽  
The United States ◽  
State Legislature ◽  
The State ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Planning System ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Interstate Compacts

Effective water resources management requires assessments of water availability within a framework of complex institutions and infrastructure employed to manage extremely variable stream flow shared by numerous often competing water users and diverse types of use. The Water Rights Analysis Package (WRAP) modeling system is fundamental to water allocation and planning in the state of Texas in the United States. Integration of environmental flow standards into both the modeling system and comprehensive statewide water management is a high priority for continuing research and development. The public domain WRAP software and documentation are generalized for application any place in the world. Lessons learned in developing and implementing the modeling system in Texas are relevant worldwide. The modeling system combines: (1) detailed simulation of water right systems, interstate compacts, international treaties, federal/state/local agreements, and operations of storage and conveyance facilities; (2) simulation of river system hydrology; and (3) statistical frequency and reliability analyses. The continually evolving modeling system has been implemented in Texas by a water management community that includes the state legislature, planning and regulatory agencies, river authorities, water districts, cities, industries, engineering consulting firms, and university researchers. The shared modeling system contributes significantly to integration of water allocation, planning, system operations, and research.

scholarly journals Estimation of monthly water yields and flows for 1951-2012 for the United States portion of the Great Lakes Basin with AFINCH

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol L. Luukkonen ◽  
David J. Holtschlag ◽  
Howard W. Reeves ◽  
Christopher J. Hoard ◽  
Lori M. Fuller
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
The United States ◽  
Great Lakes Basin
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