Agenda

Webinar instructions will be emailed 24-48 business hours before the date of the webinar.
Please log into the webinar 10-15 minutes before start time.


Thursday, July 30, 2026
8:30 am – 4:00 pm EDT


Agenda:

Michigan Groundwater Hydrology
Presented by David P. Lusch, Ph.D.                    

  • The hydrologic cycle
  • Precipitation and infiltration
  • Groundwater aquifers
  • Declining groundwater levels
  • Relationship between groundwater and surface waters

Groundwater Use
Presented by David P. Lusch, Ph.D.                                                                             

  • High-capacity groundwater wells
  • Municipal wells
  • Irrigation wells (agricultural and golf courses)
  • Industrial and mining use
  • Residential wells
  • Proliferation of wells
  • Groundwater mapping
  • Cumulative effect of groundwater pumping   

Michigan Groundwater Management Regulation
Presented by David P. Lusch, Ph.D.

  • Public Trust Doctrine    
  • Michigan Water Resources Commission Act (WRCA) 
  • Department of Energy, Great Lakes and Environment (EGLE) water withdrawal assessment tool      
  • Other laws impacting groundwater access                                             
  • Mining law
  • Economic development
  • Environmental protection
  • Rulemaking and hearing processes

Groundwater Quality, Contamination, and Remediation in Michigan
Presented by John F. Bratton, Ph.D., PG

  • Identifying threats to groundwater and understanding Michigan-specific regulatory and remediation approaches
  • Common sources of groundwater contamination in Michigan
  • Underground storage tanks
  • Industrial chemicals and legacy contamination
  • Agricultural runoff and nutrient loading
  • Septic systems and rural impacts
  • PFAS contamination: sources, impacts, and regulatory response
  • Groundwater discharge and surface water impacts
  • Michigan cleanup criteria and risk-based corrective action
  • Site investigation and remediation strategies
  • Case studies of contamination incidents and lessons learned

Groundwater and Surface Water Interaction in Michigan’s Watersheds
Presented by Reza Alizadeh, Ph.D.

  • Evaluating the impact of groundwater withdrawals on streamflow and lake levels
  • Regulatory triggers for adverse resource impacts under Michigan water law
  • Balancing water use demands with ecological protection (fisheries, wetlands, coldwater streams)
  • Great Lakes Compact considerations and interstate implications
  • Using watershed-based planning tools to guide water allocation decisions
  • Permitting challenges and case examples involving competing water users
  • Strategies for mitigating impacts from high-capacity wells

 

Webinar Instructions 
 
All attendees must log-on through their own email – attendees may not watch together if they wish to earn continuing education credit. HalfMoon Education Inc. must be able to prove attendance if either the attendee or HalfMoon Education Inc. is audited. 

Certificates of completion can be downloaded in PDF form upon passing a short quiz. A link to the quiz will be sent to each qualifying attendee immediately after the webinar. The certificate can be downloaded from the Results page of the quiz upon scoring 80% or higher. 

Webinars are presented via GoToWebinar, an easy-to-use application that can be run on most systems and tablets. Instructions and login information will be provided in an email sent close to the date of the webinar. It is highly recommended that you download, install and test the application before the webinar begins by clicking on the link in the email. 

GoToWebinar App requirements:  
Windows 10 or higher, macOS 11 or higher, Linux, Google Chrome OS 

Web Browser:  
Google Chrome (most recent 3 versions) 
Microsoft Edge (most recent 3 versions) 

Internet connection: 1 Mbps or better 

Hardware:  2GB of RAM (minimum), 4GB or more of RAM (recommended) 

For more information, visit the Support section at www.gotowebinar.com 

Credits

Engineers
6.5 PDHs

Geologists
6.5 Hour Learning Opportunity

Attorneys
6.5 Hour Learning Opportunity

APA/AICP - American Planning Association/American Institute of Certified Planners
6.5 CM

 

Continuing Education Information

This webinar is open to the public and is designed to qualify for 6.5 PDHs for professional engineers in Michigan. Continuing education courses for Michigan engineers are not subject to pre-approval requirements.

This webinar offers a 6.5-hour learning opportunity to geologists and attorneys in Michigan.

HalfMoon Education is an approved CM Provider with the American Planning Association. This course is registered for CM | 6.5 for Certified Planners.

Attendance will be monitored, and attendance certificates will be available after the webinar for those who attend the entire course and score a minimum 80% on the quiz that follows the course (multiple attempts allowed).

*On-Demand Credits*

The preceding credit information only applies to the live presentation. This course in an on-demand format is not pre-approved by any licensing boards and may not qualify for the same credits; please consult your licensing board(s) to ensure that a structured, asynchronous learning format is appropriate.

Speakers

Reza Alizadeh, Ph.D.

Department of Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering at Michigan State University, in East Lansing, MI

Professor M. Reza Alizadeh studies water and climate using advanced computation and Earth observation to address risks affecting communities and ecosystems. His work spans climatology, hydrology, remote sensing, and machine learning to build decision-support tools for sustainable water management from global to regional scales. Prior to MSU, he was a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT and received honors including the Banting Postdoctoral Award, CSBE Best PhD Thesis Award, FRQNT Postdoctoral Research Award, and an MIT Leadership Fellow distinction.

John F. Bratton, PhD, PG

Senior Science Officer at LimnoTech, in Ann Arbor, MI

Mr. Bratton, PhD, PG, is Senior Science Officer at LimnoTech. He has broad expertise in earth and environmental sciences and has led successful projects that involve the characterization and restoration of large ecosystems, adaptive management, contaminated sediment remediation, hydrogeology, numerical modeling, observing system design and operation, environmental policy, and litigation support. Mr. Bratton has worked as a consultant, researcher, educator, and science manager for over 37 years, with a focus on the Great Lakes, Northeast, and Pacific regions. He previously served as Acting Director of the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory and as a leader of the geochemistry research group within the Coastal and Marine Geology Program of the United States Geological Survey in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. He also holds adjunct faculty appointments at Wayne State University and Madonna University. Mr. Bratton works at LimnoTech’s Corporate Headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

David P. Lusch, Ph.D.

Professor at Michigan State University, in Lansing, MI

Professor Lusch retired in 2017, after a 38-year career in the Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences at Michigan State University. Beginning in 1992 with the publication of the Aquifer Vulnerability Map of Michigan, He helped pioneer the use of geographic information systems for groundwater mapping and management in Michigan. Professor Lusch served as the Principle Investigator or co-PI on numerous applied grants and contracts, many funded by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ). The Groundwater Inventory and Mapping Project, which he co-directed, won the MDEQ’s Excellence Award in 2005. In 2008, MSU awarded him the prestigious Distinguished Academic Staff Award and IMAGIN, Michigan’s professional geospatial organization, presented him with the Jim Living Geospatial Achievement Award. As a member of the team that developed the Michigan Groundwater Management Tool (MGMT), Professor Lusch received the annual Director’s Recognition Award from MDEQ in 2009. MGMT allowed MDEQ staff to rapidly produce 2,451 provisional wellhead protection areas for Type 1 and 2 water supplies at no cost to these public drinking water systems. He authored the Groundwater and Karst chapter in the 2009 Michigan Geography and Geology book. Professor Lusch was a co-PI of the 2013 – 2018 Ottawa County Water Resources Study which used process-based flow modeling, coupled with field sampling, historical data mining, geostatistical analyses, and geospatial visualizations to better understand the underlying mechanisms controlling the patterns of shallow groundwater salinization in the county. He co-authored the two papers describing the results of this study (Curtis, et al. 2018. Groundwater. 56 (3): 377–398) and (Curtis, et al. 2019. Groundwater. 57 (5): 784–806). In 2022, Professor Lusch co-authored a review paper entitled “Groundwater in Crisis? Addressing Groundwater Challenges in Michigan (USA) as a Template for the Great Lakes” (Steinman, et al. 2022. Sustainability. 14, 3008). He serves as a Technical Advisor to the Michigan Water Use Advisory Council which advises EGLE on the implementation of the Michigan Water Use Program.

Webinar Price: $339.00

Register Now

6.5 Knowledge Points

Purchase this course using Knowledge Points by clicking the button below.

(Account login required. Knowledge Points can only be redeemed by the owner of the points. Cannot be combined with any other forms of payment)

Log in to redeem Knowledge Points

Learn more about Knowledge Points.