Includes bibliographical references (p. 94-102).

Background and major issues -- Regional analysis -- Subregional analyses -- Lake Michigan Basin groundwater-flow model -- Estimation of streamflows -- Water withdrawals, return flows, and consumption -- Local analyses -- Groundwater/surface-water interaction -- Assessment of climate-change effects -- Assessment of uncertainty of flow, water-level, and base-flow reduction estimates -- Challenges and lessons learned -- Introduction -- Purpose and scope -- Previous studies -- Approach to the pilot -- Great lakes Basin water-availability issues -- Characteristics of the Great Lakes Basin -- Regional water availability analysis for the U.S. Great Lakes Basin -- Predevelopment conditions -- Stocks (storage) -- Flows and processes -- Postdevelopment conditions -- Surface-water diversions into and out of the Great Lakes Basin -- Regional water withdrawals and water use -- Regional water budgets through time -- Regional indicators -- Summary and importance of regional analysis -- Need for subregional and local analyses -- Subregional water-availability analysis within the U.S. Great Lakes Basin -- Groundwater -- Groundwater-flow model -- Groundwater budget -- Groundwater-availability summary indicators -- Groundwater-flow model and groundwater availability -- Surface water -- Water withdrawals and water use -- Local-scale water availability analysis within the U.S. Great Lakes Basin -- Inset groundwater-flow model integrating groundwater and surface-water availability -- Groundwater/surface-water interaction -- Response to climate change -- Monitoring and network analysis -- Example bootstrap analysis for surface-water monitoring network -- Example model-uncertainty analysis using the local groundwater-flow model -- Summary of pilot study -- Challenges for future water-availability studies.