Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1972
The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1972 is a significant environmental pact signed by the United States and Canada aimed at protecting and improving the water quality of the Great Lakes ecosystem. This agreement established specific objectives and guidelines for reducing pollutants in the lakes and the surrounding watershed, emphasizing the need for collaboration between both nations under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909. The primary goal was to ensure that the waters remain free from harmful substances that could adversely affect aquatic life, wildlife, and human health.
Throughout the years, the agreement has focused on eliminating harmful discharges and monitoring water quality, with oversight provided by the Great Lakes Science Advisory Board. The signatories recognized that the health of the Great Lakes is interconnected with broader ecosystem management strategies, leading to coordinated efforts to address water quality challenges. Despite facing issues in meeting some initial objectives, the agreement has evolved, including the addition of a protocol in 1983 to enhance its effectiveness. This commitment reflects a shared responsibility to maintain the ecological balance and sustainability of one of North America's most vital water resources.
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Subject Terms
Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1972
Identification International environmental agreement
Date Signed in 1972; renewed in 1978
The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement expressed a commitment between the United States and Canada to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Great Lakes Basin ecosystem.
The Great LakesWater Quality Agreement was first signed by representatives of the United States and Canada in 1972 and renewed in 1978. The agreement stated specific objectives and guidelines as a means to attain these goals and also reaffirmed the sovereign rights and obligations of the United States and Canada under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909. In signing the agreement, both parties agreed to make a maximum effort to develop programs, practices, and technologies necessary for a better understanding of the Great Lakes Basin ecosystem. They also agreed to eliminate or reduce the discharge of pollutants into the Great Lakes system, including streams, rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water that are within the drainage basin on the St. Lawrence River at, or upstream from, the point that the river becomes the international boundary between Canada and the United States.
The general objectives of the agreement clearly stated that Great Lakes waters should be free from substances that directly or indirectly enter the waters as a result of human activity and adversely affect aquatic life and waterfowl. Moreover, it stated that the Great Lake waters should be free from floating materials and chemicals; free from materials and heat-producing color, odor, taste, or other conditions that interfere with beneficial water uses, or produce toxic or harmful conditions to human, animal, or aquatic life; and be free from nutrients directly or indirectly entering the waters in amounts creating growths of aquatic life that interfere with beneficial water uses. All aspects of the agreement are monitored by the Great Lakes Science Advisory Board of the International Joint Commission of the Boundary Waters Treaty. While the agreement adopted minimum levels of water quality desired in the Great Lakes system, it did not preclude the establishment of more stringent standards.
Impact
Having entered into the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreements of 1972 and 1978, Canada and the United States soon recognized that restoration and enhancement of the boundary waters could not be achieved independently of other parts of the Great Lakes Basin aquatic ecosystem. In addition, during the 1970’s, several of the general and specific objectives of the agreement were not being met because of certain human activities in specific locations within the basin. These locations needed to be identified and a concentrated effort was needed to work toward elimination of certain human activities as point-source polluters.
After a decade, it became clear that the best means to preserve the aquatic ecosystem and achieve improved water quality throughout the Great Lakes Basin was by adopting common objectives, developing and implementing specific programs and other measures, and assigning special responsibilities and functions to the International Joint Commission. In 1983, a protocol outlining these objectives was added to the 1978 agreement.
Bibliography
Elfont, C. J., and E. A. Elfont. Sand Dunes of the Great Lakes. Chelsea, Mich.: Sleeping Bear Press, 1997.
National Research Council of the United States and The Royal Society of Canada, eds. The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement: An Evolving Instrument for Ecosystem Management. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1985.