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States Claim Great Lakes Water07-14-08 | News

States Claim Great Lakes Water

The Great Lakes contain a combined total of 6 quadrillion gallons of water ?EUR??,,????'??+ one-fifth of the world's fresh surface water and span 10,900 miles of coastline along the United States and Canada. Lake Superior covers the upper left corner. Beneath it is Lake Michigan, and to the right is Lake Huron. Under Lake Huron is Lake Erie (left) and Lake Ontario (right). The pale blue swirls in Lake Michigan are probably caused by a phytoplankton bloom or calcium carbonate (chalk) from the lake's limestone floor.

The five Great Lakes ?EUR??,,????'??+ Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie and Ontario ?EUR??,,????'??+ contain about 90 percent of the fresh surface water in the U.S. and about one-fifth of the entire world’s supply. The Great Lakes Water Compact aims to protect the lakes from large-scale water diversions. The vast majority of the fresh surface water in the United States may soon be off-limits to thirsty parts of the nation and the world. The eight Great Lakes states are on the verge of sending to Congress an accord that would keep water from being diverted out of the Great Lakes watershed.

The compact, for the very first time, will provide uniform binding water use standards for the eight Great Lakes states and two Canadian provinces. Pennsylvania’s Senate approved the compact and Gov. Ed Rendell has said he plans to sign on, making it the final state to approve the agreement. In addition to Pennsylvania, the Great Lakes compact has been approved by the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and New York.

?EUR??,,????'??Less than 1 percent of these great lakes are renewed every year through rain and snow melt and things like that. So what that means is, we have to make sure that the water that we have stays here and doesn’t get squandered,” says Cameron Davis, president of the Alliance for the Great Lakes. In addition to Pennsylvania, the Great Lakes compact has been approved by the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and New York.

The compact, which will provide uniform binding water use standards for the eight Great Lakes states and two Canadian provinces, requires those within the Great Lakes basin to take better care of it. The Great Lakes states are required to develop water conservation plans and water quality standards. The compact also prohibits large-scale diversions of Great Lakes water outside of the basin. But it still needs to be approved by Congress. Great Lakes advocates want to get the compact through Congress before 2010. That’s when a new census will be taken, which will likely result in the Great Lakes states losing anywhere from a few to a dozen seats in Congress, seats that will likely shift to states in the growing ?EUR??,,????'??+ and parched ?EUR??,,????'??+ South and West.

Source: NPR