There is still time to report large or significant water use
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EmailAgricultural water users in both Indiana and Michigan are required to report their water use for water sources with the capacity to pump 70 gallons per minute.
The deadline for water use reports has always been April 1 of the following year in Michigan and Indiana. Abby Eaton from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) Environmental Division says they still want your reports, and system will be available to take it through late spring. Allison Mann of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Division of Water said, “We will continue collecting data from the previous year through the summer. We do not have a deadline for when we will no longer accept reports, but we try to have most of the data collected by August of each year.”
Water use reporting and registration are important parts of water resource management in both Indiana and Michigan. Both states signed onto the Great Lakes Compact in which the federal government acknowledges each Great Lakes State’s ability to manage the water resource of the basin. Including the ability to deny diversions of water to areas outside the Great Lakes watershed.
Indiana uses the term Significant Water Withdrawal Facility (SWWF), where Michigan refers to these as Large Quantity Withdrawal (LQW). In either state, these terms apply to water use with the capacity to withdraw 100,000 gallons per day (70 gallons per minute). One or more withdrawals at a site having a 100,000 gallons or greater capacity, or combined capacity per day, also meets the SWWF or LQW water use definition. Water use reporting is required for all agricultural water uses (irrigation, cooling, livestock use, etc.) as a monthly estimate from both surface and ground water sources.
The Indiana SWWF reporting system offers paper and online reporting options. Personalized reporting forms for each SWWF user are mailed at the end of each year. Online reporters are emailing a reminder regarding reporting. Users can modify any of the facility information and add the monthly water use for the previous year. A description of Indiana’s registration program and the online reporting option are available at the Significant Water Withdrawal Facility Registration page on the Indiana DNR website.
In Indiana, if you have a newly acquired or installed SWWF or a facility that has never been registered, you can contact Allison Mann of the Water Rights and Use Section of the Indiana DNR Division of Water at 317-234-1101 or almann@dnr.in.gov to register.
In Michigan, agricultural LQWs are reported using an online system. Michigan sends general reminders to each LQW user each winter. Specific withdrawal information is in the computer system that is used to enter the previous year’s monthly water use. Water users can update their reporting accounts to add any new withdrawals that have been registered in the previous year. MI Login for Business is required to access the reporting system. Check out the 2025 Water Use Reporting Reminder from MDARD, which is available on the Water Resources Management section of the Michigan State University Extension Irrigation webpage, to learn more about the Michigan water use reporting system.
An alternate Michigan reporting system can only be accepted with permission from MDARD. If you have no way of using the new online system or have questions about the system, contact Abigail Eaton at mdard-waterusereporting@michigan.gov or 517-930-3006.
The required estimate of monthly water use can be accomplished by several methods, including acre inch records, pump capacity multiplied by run time and flow meter readings. Information on estimating water use for irrigation, livestock or other large volume water use can be found on the MSU Extension Irrigation website.
