The Director of Natural Resources may grant to any public water supplier permits to store excess, unused, and unappropriated water for recharging ground water reservoirs. The procedure to be followed in granting permits to utilize excess, unused, and unappropriated water for recharging ground water reservoirs shall, so far as applicable, be the same as that required for granting permits for the use of ground water as provided in the Municipal and Rural Domestic Ground Water Transfers Permit Act.