Community Water Systems and Chapter 587

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Lizbeth McCormick
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1 Community Water Systems and Chapter 587 Managing the Protection of In-Stream Flows, Lake and Pond Water Levels Andrews L. Tolman and Michael D. Abbott Hydrogeologists for the Maine CDC Drinking Water Program

2 Water In Maine How much is there? Who uses it? What s our Management Strategy? Should we be doing something different? How many agencies does it take to do this?

3 Maine s Water Resources Average Annual Rainfall = 42 inches (24 trillion gallons) 50% goes directly to run-off (12 trillion gallons) to evapotranspiration (7-10 trillion gallons) 10-20% recharges ground water (2-5 trillion gallons)

4 Maine s Water Resources 1 inch of Moosehead Lake contains 2 billion gallons of water 40% of Maine s citizens use ground water for their domestic supply Portland Water District serve 200,000 people with 8.5 billion gallons annually (about 10 inches of Sebago Lake water) (source: MGS)

5 Distribution of water use Agriculture 1% Snowmaking 1% PWS SW 36% Paper Mills 50% Bottled H2O 1% PWS GW 11%

6 Maine Water Availability and use 12,000,000 10,000,000 Million Gallons Per Year 8,000,000 6,000,000 4,000,000 2,000,000 0 net precipitation Groundwater recharge PWS SW PWS GW Bottled H2O Paper Mills Working Together for Safe Drinking Water Snowmaking Agriculture

7 Bulk Water Transport

8 Groundwater in Maine PWS use 0.36% bottled H % recharge PWS use bottled H20 recharge 100%

9 Water Extraction Regulations Targets commercial withdrawals for bottling Have been updated repeatedly DEP assesses environmental impact under NRPA for Significant Groundwater Wells DWP, with help from MGS, PUC, and DEP, permit Bulk Water Transport and smaller commercial withdrawals Towns have adopted ordinances, as well.

10 Working Together for Safe Drinking Water

11 All water is local, too Although we have plenty of water as a state, there are times and places where there are conflicts and possible shortages. Some of these conflicts are hydrologically based, and some are socially and politically motivated.

12 Hydrologic conflicts Usually seasonal Often drought-related Many relate to aquatic habitat and human use Mostly Coastal, where the people are

13 Surface Water

14 Water Level and Flow Rules Classic balancing test based on competing values and needs Surface water withdrawals primary focus indirect withdrawals may also be regulated if they impact habitat.

15 Working Together for Safe Drinking Water

16 Working Together for Safe Drinking Water

17 Current Regulatory Process DWP assessed public water system design capacity and historical use DEP is evaluating the impact of that use on aquatic resources, and how that impact might be reduced Office of the Public Advocate would assist with economic impact of possible changes Systems with impacts will receive Withdrawal Certificates, with conditions. One is in process.

18 Ground Water

19 Groundwater belongs to the landowner in Maine And government has the right to regulate use of groundwater to provide for both human and ecosystem uses. There is ongoing discussion about whether declaring groundwater a public resource, or public trust would improve its management and protection.

20 State Agency Activities DEP: NRPA, Site Location, Dam permitting, water classification lead IF&W: ecosystem impacts of management DWP: public water supply uses Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry MGS: research into availability, private well logs, coordinates state efforts Agricultural Water Management Board, Irrigation Municipal Liaison LUPC: zoning and permitting for half the state

21 Summary Mostly, Maine is a water-rich state Coastal Maine, in late summer, on a dry year, is the exception. Even then, it s a matter of timing and storage limitation. Water is constantly moving: aquifers recharge and discharge, streams and rivers flow to the sea. The Water Resource Planning Committee brings State Agencies and water users together to help manage our water.

22 New (?) Challenges Derivative Works by Taoab

23 Climate (1958 to 2011) From Scheraga, 2013: Climate Change and Water Resources Management: An EPA Perspective presented at the Extreme Weather Events: Adapt, Mitigate, and Survive Workshop; adapted from Karl et al., 2009

24 Climate Data/images obtained using Climate Reanalyzer ( Climate Change Institute, University of Maine

25 Climate St. John River, Fort Kent USGS # Piscataquis River, Dover Foxcroft USGS # Flow, CFS 1000 Flow, CFS Data from USGS National Water Information System, URL:

26 Climate Observation S&G Well, Fort Kent USGS #MW-ARW890 Observation Bedrock Well, Kenduskeag USGS #MW-PEW Depth to Water, Feet Depth to Water, Feet Data from USGS National Water Information System, URL:

27 Climate Observation S&G Well, Fort Kent USGS #MW-ARW890 Observation Bedrock Well, Kenduskeag USGS #MW-PEW Depth to Water, Feet Depth to Water, Feet Jan-12 Mar-12 May-12 Jul-12 Sep-12 Nov-12 Jan-13 Mar-13 May-13 Jul-13 Sep-13 Nov-13 Jan-14 Mar-14 Jan-12 Mar-12 May-12 Jul-12 Sep-12 Nov-12 Jan-13 Mar-13 May-13 Jul-13 Sep-13 Nov-13 Jan-14 Mar-14 Data from USGS National Water Information System, URL:

28 Harmful Algal Blooms New Hampshire DES

29 Harmful Algal Blooms James Golden/University of California, San Diego

West Virginia Elk River MCHM Spill by Freedom

30 West Virginia Elk River MCHM Spill by Freedom Industries January 9, 2014: 10,000 gallons MCHM & PPH (solvent and polyglycol ether mixture) Marcus Constantino / Daily Mail via AP

31 North Carolina Dan River Coal Ash Spill by Duke Energy February 3, 2014: 27 million gallons water mixed with 82,000 tons coal ash Gerry Broome/AP Gerry Broome/AP

33 Could It Happen in Maine? What Can We Do? Copyright Compsee 2013

34 DWP Project: Storage Facility Inventory, Prioritization and Communication

35 Questions?

Water in the Deschutes Who needs it?

Water in the Deschutes Who needs it? Rivers and streams over appropriation and flow alteration. Junior water right holders production agriculture. The Cities long-term supply for growing populations. Climate