Problems
Water pollution
The Great Lakes basin is one of the largest drainage systems on the planet; it contains 18% of the world's freshwater reserves. The rate of water renewal in the lakes is less than 1% per year due to precipitation, and surface and groundwater runoff. Large-scale use of water resources in the USA and the settled part of Canada has led to serious environmental and socio-economic problems, first of all, pollution of surface and ground waters. In the past, lakes and other waterways were used as dumping grounds because it was thought that water could dilute anything, while more recent studies have shown this to be highly incorrect. After several hundred years of constant waste dumping, many waterways have been contaminated with toxic chemicals and human waste. Water pollution is typical of the pollution that occurs in the Great Lakes. Chemicals that enter the lakes can remain there for years or even decades. Toxic chemicals come from sources such as industrial waste, overflows of untreated sewage, runoff from cities, and mining operations in the region, especially sulfide mining, where excess nutrients throw the ecosystem out of balance. Industrial, domestic, and other effluents enter water bodies without treatment. Oxygen content in lakes has significantly decreased, and fish are dying. Concentrations of mercury, pesticides, and other pollutants are many times higher than permissible norms. The use and discharge of toxic chlorine-containing (DDT, PCB) compounds and synthetic fertilizers into water systems leads to their entry into food chains. As recently as 40% of U.S. water systems could not be used for fishing and swimming because of water pollution. At the same time, large volumes of pollutants were discharged into the Great Lakes.
Effects of climate change
Rising surface and water temperatures, contribute to lower lake levels as water evaporates at a faster rate; the drying up of coastal wetlands, thereby increasing exposure to toxic pollution from sediments; and an increase in severe storms and precipitation, leading to sewage overflows. As many as one thousand types of toxic pollutants have been found in the Great Lakes, and they enter the Great Lakes with sewage and acid rain. Acid rain remains one of the most pressing problems, with about 50% of the acid rain in Canada coming from the United States. It has also been found that up to 96% of the chlorine-containing chemicals in Great Lakes waters come from the atmosphere. Perhaps this is why Canada was the first country to sign the Kyoto Protocol on the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere and introduced on its territory an obligatory reporting system on the number of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere for industrial enterprises. At the same time, the USA has not signed the Kyoto Protocol. According to experts, the Great Lakes may face other environmental problems. For example, global warming can cause the level of the lakes to fall by 1 m by the middle of the XXI century, which can lead to serious environmental consequences. Water scarcity may raise the question of the need to divert part of the flow of rivers or to withdraw lake water, which threatens the sustainable use of water resources. Frequent droughts and floods, and the catastrophic decline of water reserves in the Great Lakes are major challenges for the northern part of the continent.
Plastic Pollution
Increasingly, microplastics are being found in lake waters, in fish, and bodies of wildlife. There are significant concentrations of microplastics in the region. As a rule, microplastic particles do not exceed 5 mm. They are found in fabrics, medicines, and personal care products. Microplastics from clothing are torn off during washing and are sent through the pipes to the sewers. Plastic pollution in the Great Lakes threatens human health and the well-being of the ecosystem. Among the reasons for this accumulation of plastic is the presence of a dense urban population, where more plastic waste is generated, as well as problems such as severe storms flooding wastewater treatment plants, and instances of non-compliance with recycling obligations. Ontario's standard wastewater treatment process does not remove these microplastics, and in addition, no technology can extract microplastics from lakes once they get there. The recycling system is currently ineffective, and only a small fraction of the waste is recycled. Plastic waste and pollution is the biggest threat to the freshwater system. For the Great Lakes, more than 22 million pounds of plastic enter its waters each year.
Gallery
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Timelines
2023
October 12
Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition Leads as First Great Lakes Green Event. The Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers (GSGP) launched a new regional initiative, Great Lakes Green Events, in Cleveland. The initiative encourages destination stewardship and environmentally beneficial practices for conferences and other events in the Great Lakes St. Lawrence region. Host organizations are encouraged to adopt practices like reducing food waste and eliminating single-use plastic bottles at their events. Great Lakes Green Events organizers also support tree-planting projects in the local community. “We are thrilled that the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition wanted to hold the first Great Lakes Green Event,” said David Naftzger, executive director of GSGP. “With its members’ passion for restoring and protecting the environment, it is fitting that the Coalition serve in this role and be a model for other Great Lakes Green Events.” Tree planting is also a major part of the initiative due to the multiple environmental benefits of trees, such as storing carbon, absorbing stormwater, and improving the health of streams and lakes, as well as public health benefits like reducing urban heat effects, providing shade, and improving local air quality.
March 22
The UN 2023 Water Conference saw the adoption of the Water Action Agenda, representing the voluntary commitments of nations and stakeholders to accomplish the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their targets connected to water. The UN Water Conference, the first such event in 46 years, was billed as a marquee attraction, a chance to corral public and political attention and train it on the global challenges of too much water, too little water, and water that is too polluted. Was highlighted the work being done to protect the Great Lakes. Shared by Canada, the United States, and tribal nations, the lakes demand international cooperation. Rob Sisson, a commissioner with the International Joint Commission, the bi-national body that oversees waters shared by Canada and the United States, worried that the relative water abundance in the Great Lakes could lead to public complacency, even when the region is being buffeted by rising temperatures, severe storms, and pollutants like PFAS and microplastics. The catalyst for the conference was a set of global targets for healthier people and ecosystems. This year is the midpoint for these Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs. Though there are targets for ecosystem management, a primary objective is safely managed water and sanitation for all. The Experimental Lakes Area, a landmark natural laboratory in northwestern Ontario for freshwater research, was established on traditional lands of the Anishinaabe and Métis nations. ELA is now managed by IISD. Using living lakes as research subjects, scientists conducted groundbreaking assessments at the ELA of key lake pollutants like mercury, phosphorus, and nitrogen to develop the science that would inform policy to save the Great Lakes.
2021
February 13
US President Joe Biden announced a USD$1 billion investment into the cleanup and significant restoration efforts of the Great Lakes. The funds will come from the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which was passed after a harrowing legislative process. Between now and 2030, efforts will go towards restoring 22 of the most environmentally degraded sites, known as “Areas of Concern“ by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), across the states of Wisconsin, New York, Ohio, Minnesota, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois.
2020
A study by researchers at Western University found plastic pre-production pellets on beaches all over the Great Lakes. The study found that the problem was worse in areas with lots of plastics industry, such as near Sarnia, Ont., and Toronto.
Canada and USA have made great strides in destroying PCBs. They have virtually eliminated the use of lead in gasoline, banned several very harmful pesticides, and cut industrial and municipal waste discharges. One very difficult issue to still resolve is that of contaminated sediments in the bottoms of industrial harbors and rivers, a legacy of former unregulated discharges. Another is airborne fallout, some of it from faraway sources. As a result of the reductions in releases of persistent toxic substances that bioaccumulate in the food chain, some species, such as the herring gull, double-crested cormorant, and the bald eagle, are making a comeback in the lower Great Lakes. The levels of toxic substances in sport fish have declined sharply in most areas, reducing the risk to people who catch and eat them. There are even efforts to reintroduce the Atlantic salmon to the lakes.
2019
Toledo voters adopted a Lake Erie Bill of Rights that would have permitted citizens to sue when Lake Erie was being polluted. Farmers challenged the measure in court, and it was declared unconstitutional.
2014
Toxins in one of the blooms forced officials in Toledo, Ohio, to shut off the public water supply for half a million people.
2010
January 01
Nitrogen levels in the lakes have risen significantly because of agriculture. Like phosphorus, nitrogen is a nutrient that causes large blooms of algae in freshwater; it is one of the main ingredients in fertilizer and is also found in human and animal waste. Sewage overflows from cities and waste and manure runoff from industrial agriculture carry heavy loads of nitrogen into the lakes. As a result, algal blooms have returned to Lake Erie.
1990
January 01
During this decade, governments, industries, and non-government organizations enter a more collaborative approach to dealing with water pollution issues. It is a period of further controls on industrial discharges and the development of Remedial Action Plans to deal with contaminated sites. The populations of some native lake species are increasing, but there are more reports of exotic species entering the lakes, likely in the ballast waters of ocean-going ships. By the mid-1990s budget cuts by governments in both Canada and the United States are reducing the ability of environment departments to carry out programs or even to monitor the state of the lakes effectively.
1987
The concept of sustainable development is introduced into the environmental debate by the report of the Brundtland Commission. It provides a way for governments, industries, and some non-government organizations to enter a debate on common environmental goals. Some of the most active industries in the debate come from the Great Lakes basin.
1980
January 01
During this decade, concern about chemicals in the Great Lakes peaks with a series of scientific discoveries of dangerous pollutants in the ecosystem. Governments make further pledges to control pollution, and Canada and the United States sign a major update to the previous Great Lakes Water Quality Agreements. Industries, under growing criticism for their environmental performance, begin to not just react to regulations but to show leadership in pollution prevention. The Canadian Chemical Producers Association launches the Responsible Care program, which is later picked up by chemical industry groups around the world. During the decade, scientists are measuring significant declines in the levels of many dangerous chemicals in birds and fish and improved reproductive success in some birds. Great Lakes water levels become a major issue late in the decade, as they reach the highest point in the century. This causes extensive flooding and damage to homes and buildings constructed during lower water levels. There are calls for governments to control the lakes, but a study says that major controls are impractical.
1970
January 01
This is a turnaround decade for the Great Lakes. It is a decade since the discovery of toxic chemicals in the lakes’ ecosystems, and many people become fearful for their drinking water because of leaking chemical dumps. It is also a decade since the United States and Canada sign two major Great Lakes Water Quality Agreements, pledging efforts that will cost billions of dollars to reduce pollution. By the latter part of the decade, researchers are pointing out the importance of non-point sources of pollution, including runoff from pollution on the land agricultural and airborne chemical fallout.
1960
January 01
This is a major period of economic expansion, leading to the large-scale discharge of chemical wastes into the lakes. Persistent toxic substances begin to accumulate in the food chain. It is also a period when public concern about the environment becomes a major force in society. This begins the process of a long turnaround from increasing to decreasing discharges of pollutants into the environment. One of the early successes is the move to reduce phosphorus pollution, particularly in Lakes Erie and Ontario.
1950
January 01
The "dying" of Lake Erie becomes one of the biggest environmental stories in North America. The lake is being over-fertilized by phosphorus, particularly from sewage and detergents. This causes excessive growth of algae, and when they die, their decomposition sucks oxygen out of the water, killing life in certain parts of the lake. At one point, this process chokes off oxygen to 65 percent of the lake bottom. Starting in the mid-1950s, scientists note reproductive failures in fish-eating birds, including the almost total reproductive failure of some species, such as double-crested cormorants, bald eagles, and herring gulls in Lake Ontario. This is later attributed to toxic chemicals including the widely used insecticide, DDT.