State District 44 Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford, recently was reappointed to the Indiana Geological and Water Survey Advisory Council by Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville.

The council makes recommendations concerning the operations, performance, appropriations and funding for the Indiana Geological and Water Survey, which is an official state agency charged with the geological research and dissemination of information about the state’s energy, mineral and water resources.

Senate Enrolled Act 278, passed during the 2022 legislative session, established the Center for Water within the survey to support long-term studies of the state’s water sources and provide resources to state agencies, municipalities and water conservation groups upon request.

The survey has led geological research since geologist David Dale Owen was hired to conduct assessments of the state in 1837 and 1838. Before its formal establishment with Indiana University in 1993 through statute, the survey was associated with the university for most of the 20th century.

Koch may be reached by phone at 800-382-9467. District 44 includes Jackson, Brown, Lawrence and Orange counties and portions of Monroe County.