Indiana Farm Bureau’s first priority for the 2025 General Assembly is securing groundwater protection rights for agriculture, and a recently introduced bill is the first step in this process, said Caitlin Smith, INFB associate director of policy engagement.

The bill’s official designation is Senate Bill 28, introduced by Sen. Sue Glick, a Republican who represents District 13 in northwestern Indiana. Smith said INFB expects SB 28 to be heavily amended as it makes its way through the General Assembly, but it is a vehicle to start the process of protecting farmers’ access to water for crops and livestock.

As introduced, the bill would provide protections to Indiana farmers by establishing a streamlined process for significant groundwater well users to be compensated for loss of usable water. Under current law, groundwater well users bear the burden of proving the loss of water and of proving the party liable in court. SB 28 would shift that responsibility to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, saving the aff­ected party both time and money.

SB 28 expands current law to cover not only residential wells, but groundwater withdrawal wells utilized for food production, including both crops and livestock.

“Members need to care about access to water even if they don’t have a well on their property,” Smith noted. First, she said, it’s good farm policy.

Second, even if this issue doesn’t affect you today, that doesn’t mean it won’t in the future.

“If you or your children add irrigation or livestock to your operation, you might need these protections,” she said.

Current users are required to register their well and report annual usage, Smith said, noting that she isn’t sure how many people actually do this. But it’s important to note that once protections are added, they will cover only those wells for which landowners have submitted reports.

“If they want protections, they have to be reporting,” she said. She added that all INFB’s goals won’t be accomplished in a single year. 

“We know that developing and implementing a long-term water management plan, with a regionalized approach, will likely be a multi-year conversation and not something we accomplish this year,” she concluded. Once basic protections are in place, INFB would also like Indiana to increase funding for groundwater well monitoring and for the state to design and implement a statewide water management plan.