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Great Lakes United launches water conservation initiative

With one of Canada’s largest tall ships behind him, Great Lakes United executive director Derek Stack was at the Toronto waterfront to announce a new water conservation initiative. The program seeks to instill a new water consciousness in the Great Lakes region.

“The Great Lakes are at a crossroads. We’ve closed the door to large-scale diversions, but the greatest threat still remains: our own reckless and wasteful use of these fragile waters,” said Stack.

The Great Lakes Water Conservation Initiative builds on the momentum of the provinces and states to protect and conserve the waters of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River.

Under the same agreement that stopped large scale diversions of water to outside of the basin, states and provinces also agreed to adopt conservation programs to stem our own wasteful water use. A three-year, four-pillar program, Great Lakes United will be developing a model water conservation plan, seeing this plan adopted and implemented, working with two communities facing water shortages and helping them use conservation as a solution, and raising public awareness of the actions that can be taken to protect and conserve the Great Lakes.

It was this fourth pillar that brought Stack to Toronto. The announcement of the initiative was made at the unveiling of the Toronto Waterfront Nautical Festival, and introduces a unique partnership forged between Great Lakes United and the American Sail Training Association. Next summer, over 25 tall ships will race between seven Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River ports, bringing millions of people to the waterfront in the region’s major cities. The Great Lakes United Tall Ships Challenge will be a chance to educate the public about the Great Lakes through fun and interactive programs amid a festival atmosphere.

“This partnership with the American Sail Training Association gives us an opportunity to talk about the importance of Great Lakes protection by engaging with people on the waterfront,” said Stack. “To truly understand how powerful, but also vulnerable, the Great Lakes are, you must see them and you must experience them.”

The Great Lakes contain an astounding 6 quadrillion gallons of water, but less than 1 percent of this is renewed every year. It is this sliver of renewable, sustainable water that must meet the needs of 40 million people and the environment. But, those who live in the Great Lakes are the most wasteful water users in the world. Per capita, only the United States uses more water every year.

With the states and provinces committed to developing a conservation plan, there is already momentum toward rethinking our water use.

“This is a real opportunity for the provinces and states to become world leaders in water conservation,” said John Jackson with Great Lakes United. “Conservation is about more than just using less water. When we reduce our demands on this ecosystem, we relieve the stress on overburdened wastewater infrastructure, use less energy, and produce fewer greenhouse gases. Water conservation is the foundation to any long-term effort to protect the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River.”

Sidebar: Get Involved

We’ll be working with our coalition members throughout this program to see the four pillars of this program through. To learn more about how you can become involved in this effort, please contact us:

Building and implementing the conservation plan and the model communities:
John Jackson
519-744-7503
jjackson@glu.org

The Great Lakes United Tall Ships Challenge:
Brent Gibson
613-867-9861
bgibson@glu.org

© 2009 Great Lakes News.