managing the great lakes— st. lawrence river basin david naftzger, executive director council of...
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Managing the Great Lakes—St. Lawrence River Basin
David Naftzger, Executive DirectorCouncil of Great Lakes Governors
(312) 407-0177www.cglg.org
Council of Great Lakes Governors
Nearly 20% of the world’s surface freshwater About 90% of US surface freshwater
Home to 35 million people 25 million US 10 million Canada
Major Urban Centers Ecological Treasure “Blue Water” Economy
North America’s “Waterbelt”
Council of Great Lakes Governors
Economy depends on the Lakes: Hydropower Cooling Drinking water Industrial uses Agriculture Tourism,
recreation and boating
Shipping Fish and wildlife
Great Lakes Water Use
CategoryPercentage of 2002 Withdrawals*
Fossil Fuel Power 36%
Nuclear 35%
Public Supply 14%
Industrial 10%
Other 3%
Domestic 1%
Irrigation 1%
*Excludes hydroelectricSource: Great Lakes Commission
Great Lakes Governors’ PrioritiesGreat Lakes Governors’ Priorities
Ensure the sustainable use of our water resources while confirming that the States retain authority over water use and diversions of Great Lakes waters.
Council of Great Lakes Governors
Good-faith agreement among the Great Lakes Governors and Premiers
Created Regional Body
State and Provincial implementation
Great Lakes – St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement
of 2005
Council of Great Lakes Governors
Provincial action
Interstate Compact
Council of Great Lakes Governors
Legally enforceable contract among the Great Lakes States
Created Compact Council
Implementation
Ratification byState legislatures (2006-2008)
Congressional consent (2008)
Great Lakes – St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact
Council of Great Lakes Governors
Next Steps
Regional water conservation and efficiency objectives established
Regional procedures and regulations being developed
State and Provincial programs being developed Water conservation and efficiency Water use information Water management and regulation
Cumulative impacts to be assessed
Council of Great Lakes Governors
Decision Support Needs
Improved water use information
Consumptive use coefficients
Better understanding of groundwater-surface water interaction
Gauging
Modeling
Council of Great Lakes Governors
Decision Support Needs
Tools to assess individual and cumulative impacts
Improved Basin water supply information and water budget
Impact assessment tools: Physical, biological, chemical
Monitoring, predictive and forecasting tools
Strengthening partnerships
Difficult to Compare Water Use by Sector across state lines due to different methods and data sets
Future Needs• Consumptive Use vs. Diversions• Improved groundwater information• Increased use of remote sensing to determine
water use• More consistency between states on how water
use data are collected/available• Support Sec. 9508 of SECURE Water Act
(P.L. 111-11) for state/federal partnership in water use data
• Improved long-term supply forecasting