Issues of Concern to the Mahomet Aquifer Consortium

(Compiled December 14, 2006)

· Feasibility/impacts of new groundwater developments. Data availability to address these in a timely fashion.

· Cumulative impacts vs. project-by-project impacts. Calm concern rather than panic.

· What is groundwater mining and should it be allowed?

· Who “owns” the water? Use of aquifer water beyond the aquifer boundaries (for industrial uses, for community water supply, etc.). Thinking regionally vs. “over the aquifer”

· How to manage the groundwater? Create a new regulatory process? State oversight? Can management be done through a cooperative process? Use of current legal processes, e.g., water authorities, zoning ordinances, etc.?

· Local scale vs. aquifer-wide: hard to generalize for the whole aquifer

· Impact of regulations on private well users

· What is sustainable development?

· Communication and public outreach, public awareness (educating those that want to learn!)

· Definition of “adverse impacts”

· Water conservation and reuse, alternative sources (including smaller local aquifers)

· Groundwater recharge and recharge areas, recharge processes

· Gathering/sharing of information between communities

· Knowledge transfer to decision-makers

· Emerging water quality issues that may impact water use, especially surface waters