![Great Lakes Safe For Now](http://townsquare.media/site/656/files/2015/05/Great-Lakes-Ice-Covered-Getty-Images-by-NASA-630x484.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Great Lakes Safe For Now
Back in 1998 an entrepreneur wanted to extract water from Lake Superior and ship it to Asia via tanker ships. Apparently the Ontario Ministry of the Environment approved that plan before people found out about it, and the people were not happy.
According to an article in the Lansing State Journal Canadian and U.S. governments asked the International Joint Commission, a commission which addresses Great Lakes water issues, to examine how to protect the lakes from large-scale diversions such as the Ontario plan. The agency issued recommendations in a report they issued in 2000.
Now more than a decade later the protections put in place to prevent such large-scale diversion of Great Lakes water has been deemed successful. According to the consultants reviewing the outcomes stated that the Great Lakes states and Canadian provinces must remain vigilant and utilize emerging technologies and scientific advances to maintain the positive momentum since the report was issued.
The review of the measures taken via the report was conducted by the President of Ralbet Enterprises and acting chairman of the Canadian Water Issues Council at the University of Toronto, as well as a Professor of Environmental and Geological Engineering at Michigan Technological University.
According to the review they found many areas of success:
- The policy gaps identified in 2000 have largely been filled.
- The eight states and two Canadian provinces on the Great Lakes have made significant progress in implementing water protection measures, especially the Great Lakes Compact and parallel agreement with Ontario and Quebec.
- Consumptive uses of Great Lakes water have declined in the past decade.
The reviewers were quoted in the article stating: “Moving forward, it is important to remember that there really is no ‘surplus’ water in the Great Lakes Basin. From an ecosystem perspective, it is all in use, even in periods of high supply.”
Great to hear that such a beautiful resource, as the Great Lakes are, is being looked after and preserved.
What are your thoughts?
Let’s discuss this today on my show The Live with Renk show, which airs Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to noon, to let me know your thoughts at (269) 441-9595.
Or please feel free to start a discussion and write your thoughts in the comment section.
More From WKMI
![City of Kalamazoo Offering Free Water Filters For Residents](http://townsquare.media/site/689/files/2022/08/attachment-bluewater-sweden-c_sKQHxobPk-unsplash.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Grand Rapids Was the First U.S. City to Add Fluoride To Its Water](http://townsquare.media/site/689/files/2022/08/attachment-Grand-Rapids-Water.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Man Ignores US-Canada Border Closing To Swim St. Clair River](http://townsquare.media/site/656/files/2021/06/Viktor-Talashuk-Unsplash.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Michigan’s Winter Free Fishing Weekend Dates Announced](http://townsquare.media/site/656/files/2020/02/2-5-Trout-Fishing-Credit-Tim-Bachman-2.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Crazy Stuff People Try to Get Across the Michigan Border](http://townsquare.media/site/694/files/2020/01/GettyImages-1151246022-e1580394999245.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Will Michigan State Representatives Vote To Block Mother Nature](http://townsquare.media/site/656/files/2020/01/Nestle-Pure-Life-Water-Bottles-Getty-Images-by-Astrid-Stawiarz.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Van Buren Residents Get Free Well Water Testing This Month](http://townsquare.media/site/689/files/2019/08/RS14986_484195102.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![The Magnificent Views Of Niagara Falls In Canada](http://townsquare.media/site/690/files/2019/07/Horseshoe-Falls.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Scientist Expect Large Algae Bloom on Lake Erie Soon](http://townsquare.media/site/692/files/2019/07/RS23498_GettyImages-480555354.jpeg?w=980&q=75)