(1) The department shall do all of the following:

  (a) Cooperate with the states and provinces in the Great Lakes region to develop and maintain a common base of information on the use and management of the water of the Great Lakes basin and to establish systematic arrangements for the exchange of this information.

  (b) Collect and maintain information regarding the locations, types, and quantities of water use, including water withdrawals and consumptive uses, in a form that the department determines is comparable to the form used by other states and provinces in the Great Lakes region.

  (c) Collect, maintain, and exchange information on current and projected future water needs with the other states and provinces in the Great Lakes region.

  (d) Cooperate with other states and provinces in the Great Lakes region in developing a long-range plan for developing, conserving, and managing the water of the Great Lakes basin.

  (e) Participate in the development of a regional consultation procedure for use in exchanging information on the effects of proposed water withdrawals and consumptive uses from the Great Lakes basin.

  (f) Develop procedures for notifying water users and potential water users of the requirements of this part.

  (g) If the department receives a registration for a zone B or a zone C withdrawal or issues a permit under section 32723 or the safe drinking water act, 1976 PA 399, MCL 325.1001 to 325.1023, for a zone B or zone C withdrawal, place a notice on the department’s website and notify by electronic mail all of the following that have requested under subsection (2) an electronic mail notification:

  (i) Conservation districts.

  (ii) Regional planning agencies.

  (iii) Watershed management planning committees.

  (iv) Storm water committees established under part 31.

  (v) The chief elected officials of the local units of government.

  (vi) Community supplies owned by political subdivisions.

  (vii) A water users committee established under section 32725.

  (2) An organization listed in subsection (1)(g) that wishes to receive an electronic mail notification of withdrawals described in subsection (1)(g) that are located in its vicinity shall provide to the department an electronic mail address.

  (3) Upon receipt of notification from the department under subsection (1)(g), the notified entities may form a water resources assessment and education committee in order to assess trends in water use in the vicinity of the withdrawal and educate water users. The department shall assist in the formation of these water resources assessment and education committees and may provide them with technical information regarding water use and capacity within their vicinity, aggregated at the stream reach level. Meetings of water resources assessment and education committees shall be open to the general public. A water resources assessment and education committee formed under this subsection may provide educational materials and recommendations regarding any of the following:

  (a) Long-term water resources planning.

  (b) Use of conservation measures.

  (c) Drought management activities.

  (d) Other topics related to water use as identified by the committee.