Abstract
Groundwater historically has been a critical but understudied, underfunded, and underappreciated natural resource, although recent challenges associated with both groundwater quantity and quality have raised its profile. This is particularly true in the Laurentian Great Lakes (LGL) region, where the rich abundance of surface water results in the perception of an unlimited water supply but limited attention on groundwater resources. As a consequence, groundwater management recommendations in the LGL have been severely constrained by our lack of information. To address this information gap, a virtual summit was held in June 2021 that included invited participants from local, state, and federal government entities, universities, non-governmental organizations, and private firms in the region. Both technical (e.g., hydrologists, geologists, ecologists) and policy experts were included, and participants were assigned to an agricultural, urban, or coastal wetland breakout group in advance, based on their expertise. The overall goals of this groundwater summit were fourfold: (1) inventory the key (grand) challenges facing groundwater in Michigan; (2) identify the knowledge gaps and scientific needs, as well as policy recommendations, associated with these challenges; (3) construct a set of conceptual models that elucidate these challenges; and (4) develop a list of (tractable) next steps that can be taken to address these challenges. Absent this type of information, the sustainability of this critical resource is imperiled.
Highlights
Groundwater is one of the most important resources on the planet, serving as a source of drinking and irrigation water for billions of people [1,2]
We focused on Michigan, which is in the midst of several critical groundwaterrelated issues, we recognize that these issues are germane to the entire Great
The agriculture breakout group agreed on four major challenges applicable broadly across each of the models, including: (1) a trend towards increasing irrigation for agricultural uses; (2) contamination of groundwater from agricultural nutrient and chemical inputs; (3) an increase in agricultural best management practices that benefit groundwater recharge; and, (4) the need for approaches and models to determine groundwater availability, especially in response to climate change
Summary
Groundwater is one of the most important resources on the planet, serving as a source of drinking and irrigation water for billions of people [1,2]. Groundwater’s role in the environment receives less attention than its role in drinking water supply, but it supplies an average of 67% of the discharge in the larger tributaries flowing into the Great Lakes [15] and provides cold, high-quality flow for highly valued trout streams in the region [16,17]. Estimates such as these are even more difficult to make for groundwater contributions to wetlands and inland lakes because of their dynamic nature and lack of monitoring data. We conclude with a summary section containing study limitations and our overall recommendations
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
