Hydrogeologic considerations for an interstate ground-water compact on the Madison aquifer, northern Great Plains

The development of an interstate ground-water compact for the
Madison aquifer in the Northern Great Plains may provide a framework to
allocate equitably this large ground-water resource while avoiding
possible future interstate legal conflicts. However, some technical
problems will have to be resolved first. A compact designed to regulate
or to allocate the available ground water will have to be written in
very precise, legally acceptable definitions. The required definitions
may infer a degree of measurement accuracy that cannot be technically
or economically provided. Therefore, a trade off may be required
between preserving natural conditions and allowing beneficial use of the
ground-water resource.