The protection and preservation of the largest surface water system in the world needs to be discussed as a campaign issue in 2016. This is not only important at the Presidential level, but in all of the open great lakes gubernatorial races, as well. Overwhelmingly passed by a bi-partisan majority in Congress, Signed by W, and endorsed by all 8 of the sitting Great Lakes governors (6 of which were Democrats at the time (Blagoyevich, Strickland, Granholm, Rendell, Doyle and Spitzer)) and their legislatures, climate change and budgetary constraints could possibly, I repeat possibly, put this great natural resource at risk.
More of my paranoia below:
First, a primer...
"The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Council (Compact Council) was established on December 8, 2008, when the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact became State and federal law. Each of the eight Great Lakes State legislatures ratified the Compact and Congress provided its consent for this historic accord.
The Compact details how the States will work together to manage and protect the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin. It also provides a framework for each State to enact programs and laws protecting the Basin." - Great Lakes - St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Council.
The Council was formed to protect the Great Lakes Watershed and implement restoration efforts to ensure responsible use of this great resource. It restricts the distribution of water resources to communities within the watershed. Just recently, we saw how the Compact is supposed to work. Waukesha, Wisconsin petitioned the Council for access to Lake Michigan because its aquifer had become undrinkable.
Waukesha, Wisconsin is a suburban community west of Milwaukee. In 2012 the population was 70,920. Waukesha’s water problems started in the 1980s. The city had been drawing its drinking water from an aquifer paralleling Lake Michigan. Overuse began to raise the level of radium and sodium in water pumped to the surface. So the city opened a treatment plant to remove the radium. The city even looked at recycling waste water. And then the obvious solution was proposed. Why not take the water directly from Lake Michigan, 24 kilometers (15 miles) to the east?
A $78 million twin pipeline proposal was put together to draw water from the Lake and deliver treated waste water back to the Great Lakes watershed to drain into the Lake. Environmental impact studies were prepared. But then the rules of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact came into play.
One clause in particular stands out. It states:
“The Parties agree that the protection of the integrity of the Great Lakes–St.Lawrence River Basin Ecosystem shall be the overarching principle for reviewing Proposals subject to Regional Review, recognizing uncertainties with respect to demands that may be placed on Basin Water, including groundwater, levels and flows of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River, future changes in environmental conditions, the reliability of existing data and the extent to which Diversions may harm the integrity of the Basin Ecosystem.”
There are provisions for straddling communities such as the county in which Waukesha resides. These clauses state specifically just how much water can be used for freshwater supply or waste water treatment. In addition the clauses require the applicant requesting diversion to provide water quality discharge standards and guarantees not to introduce invasive species into the watershed. One way the Compact has attempted to discourage applicant requests for diversion projects is the provision that states
“All water withdrawn shall be returned, either naturally or after use to the source watershed less an allowance for consumptive use.” Waukesha itself sits in the Mississippi River basin, meaning its natural flow is away from the Lake.
Waukesha is a symptom of a much larger U.S. problem. The U.S. mid and southwest, particularly those communities and farmlands that have experienced prolonged recent droughts see the water-rich Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin as a prime water resource. Why not divert water from the Basin to population centers like Las Vegas or Phoenix? Why not refill the Ogallala Aquifer with water from the Great Lakes? Why not raise Mississippi River water levels through a diversion canal? - http://www.21stcentech.com/...
Currently, Waukesha plans on purchasing water from Oak Creek, Wisconsin, a Lake Michigan coastal community and then returning treated waste water back to Lake Michigan; all at a projected cost of over $200 million; driving up water rates for residents. Waukesha is under a court order to develop a long term solution to its water problems by 2018. However, due to in depth environmental review by the Compact, they are looking to extend that deadline to 2020.
All these issues, plus the short term economic benefit to governmental coffers for selling resources to other communities/states put this vital resource at tremendous risk if somebody decides to withdraw from the Compact. It's easy to say that nobody would be dumb enough to withdraw from a treaty that protects the Great Lakes, but there are plenty of voices today that call for natural resource exploitation in public lands.
No one is talking about it. Maybe somebody should.