Robbing Our Aquifer

 “Robbing our aquifer” sounds pretty threatening but the sentiment is real in some states where the issue has become critical. An aquifer is a certain underground layer of water and it is mined through wells.

Writer Allen Best in the Mountain Town News referred to the excessive use of groundwater as  “pinching the aquifer piggy banks”, maybe more tolerable a phrase but just as serious as it relates to the long-term availability of water in an aquifer.

The Denver Post talked about “The water under Colorado’s Eastern Plains is running dry as farmers keep irrigating [the]“great American desert”.

Just recently, mega-farmers, businessmen, and homeowners in South Carolina asked that the State’s 40-year, successful government management program be expanded to avoid new conflicts occurring among users of underground water usage.

And in Indiana, avoiding water usage conflicts has caught the interest of state leaders, in particular, the Indiana Chamber.

After the 2012 drought in Central Indiana, the Indiana Chamber sponsored a study of water usage issues in Indiana. It can be found at www.indianachamber.com.

The study calls for a statewide water use management plan:

“Groundwater withdrawal has increased more rapidly than surface water diversions. The aquifers of the state are becoming increasingly important as a means of satisfying seasonal demands while controlling costs of treatment and conveyance. The water use data reported to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) suggests that this trend will continue if the climate becomes less stable and regional shortages develop.”

This past May our state legislature’s Legislative Council assigned issues of water infrastructure to the Committee of Water Infrastructure Task Force.

It is not clear that the summer study committee will include the discussion of a water usage management plan but it should, when funding drinking water infrastructure is discussed, as is one of the three committee assignments.

Hearings have not been scheduled and they may be held in early Fall.  But if you are interested in this critical economic issue for Indiana, continue to check the following site for scheduling and Internet access. https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2018/committees/water_infrastructure_task_force

The Indiana Chamber study notes public outreach about the importance of a master plan as the first step. A summer study committee would be a perfect opportunity.