A sustainable approach to water use in Southwest Michigan's Paw Paw River Watershed

As changing land use and water use patterns in many areas of the world threaten freshwater ecosystems, innovative approaches and partnerships are needed to explore potential solutions.  The Paw Paw River, in Southwest Michigan, is an ecoregional priority for conservation action as identified by The Nature Conservancy.  Planning efforts have indicated that altered hydrology, resulting from land use and water withdrawals, is a significant threat to the river and associated wetland systems.  The Nature Conservancy is partnering with the Coca-Cola Company and Michigan State University to explore the potential to offset water use within the watershed.  Here we present the framework for the partnership and the results of a hydrologic modeling effort to highlight specific areas where implementation of agricultural best management practices (BMPs) will maximize increases in groundwater recharge.  We will target these areas for BMPs in the next phase of the project.  Modeled water quality benefits from the implementation of BMPs will also be presented.  Concurrent efforts are underway to establish baseline data documenting benefits to stream communities in areas adjacent to where best management practices will be concentrated.  This partnership provides a real-world application of modeling tools to inform on-the-ground conservation action to balance water use with healthy aquatic ecosystems.