Specifications include, but are not limited to: • a 50-year public water supply demand forecast; • a 50-year regional water availability estimate, which could be calculated using a water budget; • identification of surpluses and shortages within the region as a result of the comparison between the demand and availability analysis.; The goal of the Study is to improve the understanding of current and estimated future groundwater and surface water availability within the public water utility sector so that a gap analysis of the future availability can be conducted.; The demand evaluation should examine variable growth scenarios as well as the implementation of water conservation measures.; The supply analysis should include a description of the region’s current surface and groundwater supplies and should also include a high-level look at the impact of drought and climate change on future supplies based on historical weather records.; The results of the Study should be compared to other water studies for verification, should these studies exist. The Study will also include an analysis of both existing and future water demand and availability for each county.; The primary data collection methodology should be existing federal and state resources such as those available from the US Census, USGS, IDNR, IDEM, and the Indiana Business Research Center. In order to reduce the burden on public water supply utilities, requesting data directly from utilities will be a method of last resort.
