The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (Agreement), initially signed in 1972, is a binational accord between the United States and Canada to protect regional water quality in the Great Lakes basin. An amendment to the Agreement was released in September 2012; among the additions is an annex dedicated to climate change.
The Great Lakes and their associated tributaries are major drinking water sources and are important to the region’s ecosystems, commercial sectors, and recreational activities. Primary threats to water quality in the Great Lakes include toxins, pollutant loading, and harmful algae, all of which may be exacerbated by the onset of climate change and have negative impacts on human and ecosystem health. For example, changes in temperature may affect the toxicity of certain chemicals and/or interact with nutrient pollution to enhance algal blooms.
The Agreement has guided transboundary efforts to protect water quality in the Great Lakes region since 1972, building upon and reaffirming the binational cooperation outlined in the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909. The Agreement has been amended in the past as new and pressing issues have emerged; the previous amendment was signed in 1987. A new amendment process began in 2009 to address urgent and emerging issues, including aquatic invasive species, habitat degradation, and climate change, among others.
The Agreement, signed in September 2012 by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson and Canadian Environment Minister Peter Kent, commits the United States and Canada to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the waters of the Great Lakes basin” (Great Lakes Water Quality Protocol of 2012). It calls for the United States and Canada to cooperate on a variety of water quality issues in order to limit or eliminate environmental threats. Climate change impacts are included along with other issues in annexes of the Agreement. These sections include:
The purpose of Annex 9 is to outline objectives “to identify, quantify, understand, and predict the climate change impacts on the quality of the Waters of the Great Lakes, and [to share] information that Great Lakes resource managers need to proactively address these impacts” (Great Lakes Water Quality Protocol of 2012). This section recognizes climate change impacts on water quality and the need to have broad cooperation between and among all levels of government in both countries with respect to climate science and actions to build adaptive capacity. The Annex recognizes the need for the Parties to consider climate change impacts when implementing the entire Agreement. In addition, the Annex determines that the countries need to:
Gregg, R.M. (2012). Addressing Climate Change Impacts in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement [Case study on a project of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Canadian Ministry of the Environment]. Product of EcoAdapt's State of Adaptation Program. Retrieved from CAKE: www.cakex.org/case-studies/addressing-climate-change-impacts-great-lake… (Last updated October 2012)
This case study was originally published on the EcoAdapt Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange.
The Agreement is a model of a binational, ecosystem-based approach to the management of water quality. Emerging issues of concern, including aquatic invasive species, nutrient and chemical pollution, habitat and species loss, and climate change, were integrated into a new version of the accord in 2012. The Amendment outlines a number of activities that will allow for the United States and Canada to be held accountable for progress made on improving the water quality of the Great Lakes. These measures include:
Image Credit
Photo attributed to CeciliaPang. This work has been released into the public domain by its author. No endorsement by licensor implied.
