The Great Lakes Zephyr - Wind Energy & Hydrogen Journal

Illinois PIRG urges you to protect Great Lakes water

Dear Illinois PIRG supporter, The waters of the Great Lakes may seem boundless, but schemes designed to siphon water to regions outside the Great Lakes and water-guzzling activities within the region threaten to waste massive amounts of this irreplaceable resource. Now the Governors of the Great Lakes states have come together to propose rules (called "Annex 2001") for how to manage water withdrawals from our lakes. Tell Governor Blagojevich and the other Great Lakes Governors to strengthen Annex 2001 and stop large-scale diversions and abuse of our water. Then, ask your family and friends to help by forwarding this e-mail to them. To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser: http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=154&id4=ES Background As the largest source of fresh surface water in the world, the Great Lakes are a tempting target for privateers who would seek to siphon off huge quantities of their waters for profit. Schemes to divert water from the Great Lakes have ranged from the grandiose - such as pumping water into the Great Plains and over the Rocky Mountains to the desert southwest - to smaller diversions for the suburbs of Milwaukee and elsewhere. Private companies have attempted to ship Great Lakes waters overseas (so far without success), much like oil. Other companies - such as Nestle - are bottling waters in the Great Lakes and selling it outside the basin, never to return to replenish our lakes. Inside the Great Lakes basin, agriculture and industry now account for more than 80% of water use in the region, and yet, there is little to ensure that they are not wasting this precious resource. While the Great Lakes may seem vast and infinite, in fact only 1% of the water is recharged annually by rain and snow, while the remaining 99% is "fossil water" deposited by glaciers. Annex 2001 - designed by all the Governors of the Great Lakes states - is an attempt to respond to these concerns by designing rules for withdrawing and using Great Lakes water. These rules state that all new water withdrawals outside of the basin of over 5 million gallons per day must be approved by all 8 Great Lakes Governors while new water consumption within the basin of over 1 million gallons per day must be approved by 6 out of the 8 Great Lakes Governors. The full text of the agreement is available here: http://www.cglg.org/1projects/water/overview.asp Additional information and comments from environmental groups are available here: http://www.speakongreatlakes.org/ While Annex 2001 may be an improvement over the current legally-suspect and politically-fragile system set up by the Water Resources Development Act of 1986, it needs to be much stronger. Specifically, Annex 2001 should include a "no net loss" standard, ensuring that all water used or diverted from the region is either returned at a similar level of water quality to the same place or is offset by increased water conservation measures. Moreover, Annex 2001 allows consumers of water to average their use over a period of 120 days when 30 days is a more appropriate standard for agriculture and other uses. Annex 2001 allows 10 years to review existing withdrawals, which is far longer than necessary. Generally, Annex 2001 may be a positive step toward protecting our water, but does not go far enough because it does not require strict conservation, does not cap total water withdrawals and allows triggers for regional review that are so high that only massive new uses will be affected. Annex 2001 is currently in a public comment period (until October 18, 2004), which is the primary mechanism for citizens to provide input into this agreement which will affect all Great Lakes states and set a national and international precedent. After the closing of this comment period, the Council of Great Lakes Governors will present its final recommendations for approval to all state legislatures and, if it is approved by all states, to Congress for approval. The time to act is now! Tell Governor Blagojevich and the other Great Lakes Governors to strengthen Annex 2001 and stop large-scale diversions and abuse of our water. Then, ask your family and friends to help by forwarding this e-mail to them. To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser: http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=154&id4=ES Sincerely, Rebecca D. Stanfield Illinois PIRG Environmental Attorney RebeccaS@illinoispirg.org http://www.IllinoisPIRG.org P.S. Thanks again for your support. Please feel free to share this e-mail with your family and friends.