Water Levels and Flows
100 years of shared water protection
This past Sunday was the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Boundary Waters Treaty. To commemerate the hundred years of water cooperation it ushered, the Consulate General of Canada, the United States Consulate General, and the International Joint Commission are hosting Boundary Waters Week from June 5 to 14 in Niagara Falls, New York and Ontario.
A Great Lakes year
This has been a remarkable year for Great Lakes protection. As 2008 comes to a close, we reflect on some of the achievements citizens and organizations across the region deserve to celebrate.
Why the compact is a win
When U.S. President Bush signed his approval of the Great Lakes Compact, a few groups and individuals across the region feared the commercialization of Great Lakes water. Sarah Miller, researcher with the Canadian Environmental Law Association, puts these arguments to rest, explaining why the Compact does not threaten to commercialize water, and why it must be celebrated as a win for the region.
Congress Passes Historic Great Lakes Protection
Earlier today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the historic Great Lakes Compact, ensuring the strongest protections ever to stop water diversions and to regulate large-scale water use. The final step is for President Bush to sign the Compact, as he has already pledged to do.
IJC abandons gutless plan for dam
Following public comment that chastised the International Joint Commission for selecting a plan that would continue the devastation of St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario coastal habitat, the IJC has withdrawn their proposed management plan in favour of finding a more environmentally responsible choice.
3008: A Great Lakes odyssey
We are all used to seeing pictures of the outline of the Great Lakes from space. Will that outline look the same for someone looking down from space 1000 years from now? That is highly unlikely.
Compact in Congress’ hands
Two and a half years after the Governors of the Great Lakes states signed the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact and the companion Agreement with the Premiers of Ontario and Quebec, the Compact has been ratified by all eight states. On July 9, 2008, Michigan became the final state to pass the Compact.
Managing water through the Moses-Saunders dam: Comments submitted
In response to the IJCs’ request for comments on a new management plan for regulating the flow of water through the Moses-Saunders dam, Great Lakes United responded favouring a different plan. Referred to as plan B+, this better replicates the natural flow water, which is critical for the stability of near-shore habitats.
St. Lawrence River one of most endangered in U.S.
American Rivers has released its annual list of the Most Endangered Rivers in the United States, and the section of the St. Lawrence River shared between Canada and the U.S. placed fourth worst.
The zebra mussel: Twenty years later
It was an invasion predicted 95 years before it arrived. Research reports, dating back to 1893 and including a 1981 report to Environment Canada, warned of the risk the zebra mussel posed to the Great Lakes. Despite the warnings, Canada and the United States failed to act. And today, twenty years after the mussel’s discovery, both countries still lack the regulations that would have stopped it in the first place.
Action Alerts
