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Our Four-Pillar Approach

The Great Lakes Water Conservation Initiative is a three year, four-pillar approach to instilling a new water consciousness within the Great Lakes region.  The plan is a mix of high-level state and provincial initiatives and regulations, and community-based outreach and  behaviour-changing actions.  Starting with state and provincial commitments to develop conservation plans, the Initiative brings better water stewardship straight into Great Lakes communities and to the front line of public education.

Pillar 1:
THE MODEL 
CONSERVATION 
PLAN		 Pillar 2:
IMPLEMENTATION 
OF CONSERVATION 
PLANS		 Pillar 3:
MODEL
COMMUNITIES		 Pillar 4:
EDUCATE 
AND ACTIVATE 
PUBLIC
Develop an ambitious, but achievable, model conservation plan that each state and province can adopt, as required under the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement.
 		  Ensure that each Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River state and province promptly adopts,
implements, and enforces the provisions, programs and regulations of their conservation plan.
 		  Work with two water-challenged communities to demonstrate that progressive, committed, and timely action to conserve water can allow for community growth while staying within the sustainable water budget of the area. Analyze individuals’ water use behaviour and identify strategies for individuals to lower their water use and improve their own efficiency while activating latent values toward water and Great Lakes protection.  Raise public awareness about the wonder and fragility of the Great Lakes through the frame of water conservation. This will re-engage public interest in near-shore activities and identify the Great Lakes as part of the community’s sense of place.
 

 

Pillar 1: The Model Conservation Plan

Working with the POLIS Project on Ecological Governance at the University of Victoria, Great Lakes United has developed a Model Conservation Plan. This sets progressive, achievable, and timely goals to ensure world-leading conservation standards. We are pursuing the support and/or endorsement of fellow environmental and conservation groups, as well as the support of other partners.

This plan:

  • Outlines water conservation targets and timelines;
  • Identifies money saving actions that each jurisdiction can take to reduce water use;
  • Recommends best management practices (BMPs) that lead to real water use savings;
  • Makes it clear that water conservation can defer capital expenses, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by lowering the energy needed to pump and treat water, and lower pollution discharges;
  • Identifies strategies for reducing storm water runoff and sewage overflows; and,
  • Identifies measures to reduce toxic chemicals in wastewater.

Pillar 2: Implementation of Conservation Plans

We will work with states and provinces to ensure the plan developed in Pillar 1 is adopted and implemented through changes to, or introduction of, legislation, regulations or programs. State and provincial level non-governmental coordinators will oversee adoption and implementation in their jurisdiction while developing partnerships with local stakeholders and ensuring the conservation initiative is framed within a context relevant to the unique nature of that state or province.

We will ensure:

  • Each coordinator has a close relationship with stakeholders in the jurisdiction;
  • Issues specific to the jurisdiction are identified and accommodated;
  • Focussed attention on each jurisdiction while promoting coordinated goals and action;
  • Public and community voices are heard in conservation program development;
  • Coordinators will network with local and state/provincial stakeholders to promote Model Conservation Plan principles.

Pillar 3: Model Communities

Through the Model Communities pillar we will work closely with two Great Lakes communities (Canada and the U.S.) that are experiencing significant water availability problems. As these communities face growing populations and/or dwindling water supplies, we will work with them to show how conservation practices and policies can lead to positive population growth within their existing water budget. A local coordinator will liaise with the municipality to build conservation elements into their planning processes, as well local industry and other water users to ensure utmost efficiency and conservation in their practices.

This pillar works along two pathways:

  • A local policy-building program that works with stakeholders to put in place the regulatory initiatives and business practices that will bring water conservation practices; and
  • A focussed social marketing campaign that researches how individuals in that community use and understand water, and a program that uses this insight to improve wasteful water practices.

Pillar 4: Educate and Activate Public

Great Lakes United is working with the America Sail Training Association to launch the public awareness portion of this program during the 2010 TALL SHIPS Challenge® – a 7 port sailing race across the St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes. Through this event, we will expose and educate a significant number of Canadians and Americans to a freshwater conservation message they can relate to, in celebration of waters worth protecting.

We will:

  • Develop a Tall Ships program that includes a positive mix of interactive education, entertainment, and information;
  • Work with local organizations to promote local causes amid broader, regional concerns;
  • Ensure a positive, ‘green’ message in fitting in with a festival atmosphere;
  •  Follow up in these communities with a campaign that builds from a thorough evaluative framework.
     
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