All ground water shall be classified as not less than Class GW-A, except as otherwise provided in this section. The board may recommend to the Legislature the reclassification of any ground water, after careful consideration, public hearings and in consultation with other state agencies and the municipalities and industries involved, and where the board finds that it is in the best interests of the public that the waters be so classified. [PL 1985, c. 698, §15 (NEW).]