News

Conversations about water rights

With the increase in irrigation systems being put in across the country – the discussion about water rights is becoming more prevalent.  Mark Basch, with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Water Division says those discussions are ongoing in Indiana.  “To get a handle on how much water is actually there, how much is withdrawn, and again to get some feel for the water resource in general and how it is keeping up with the withdrawals that are occurring throughout the state,” he says.

He tells Brownfield he wouldn’t be surprised to see some sort of legislation that looks at any significant water usage.

While irrigation may be included in that – Basch says you might be surprised at how much water it actually used.  “Ag irrigation, even though it represents about two-thirds of the 3, 800 registered facilities that we have in Indiana it only represents about 3 to 4 percent of the actual water use in the state,” he says.

And while there is a lot of new irrigation being installed, the actual water withdrawals relative to the total usage in the state, he says, is pretty minimal.

AUDIO: Mark Basch, IDNR (3:30mp3)