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December 14, 2005Governors approve ban on water diversionWould allow water to be transferred only within the regionMILWAUKEE (AP) - Representatives of eight states and two Canadian provinces formally approved an agreement Tuesday that would prevent outsiders such as the booming cities of the Southwest from raiding Great Lakes water.If the legislatures in the eight states and Congress approve, the unprecedented agreement would legally obligate the Great Lakes states to block diversion of water to areas outside the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Basin. The premiers of Quebec and Ontario have agreed to a companion compact that requires their provinces to be consulted on large water diversions, but it would not be legally binding. Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, Ohio Gov. Bob Taft and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty signed the agreements at the Council of Great Lakes Governors' Leadership Summit. Quebec and the remaining states sent representatives to the summit signing. The agreement allows water to be transferred from Lakes Erie, Huron, Michigan, Superior and Ontario only to communities within the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Basin. "The lakes represent a fresh water ecosystem that's unique on our planet supporting thousands of species, including human beings. These agreements will protect our Great Lakes from the threats of diversions outside this basin," said Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, the incoming chairman of the Council of Great Lakes Governors. The agreements allow for limited exceptions to diverting water outside the basin, such as supplying water for public purposes in communities near the basin. Those straddling communities or counties would be required to return treated water to the lakes after use. The governors and premiers considered potential legal challenges to the ban on water diversion when formulating the compacts over the last four years. "It's important that the agreement ... does go to Congress for approval," said David Naftzger, executive director of the Council of Great Lakes Governors. "In so approving it, they would be indicating that they did not regard that it would be violating the commerce laws of the Constitution by such regulation." Ohio Gov. Bob Taft said strong protection of the lakes is required as water shortages throughout the country and the world continue to become more severe. The pact was motivated largely by fears that states in the booming but arid Southwest will try tapping into the lakes, which hold 90 percent of the nation's fresh surface water, as their populations and political clout grow. The agreements provide that states and provinces will use a consistent standard to review proposed uses of Great Lakes water and that regional goals for water conservation be established. It also requires states and provinces to share technical data. Doyle said more work is needed at the state and federal levels. State Sen. Ted Kanavas, R-Brookfield, among a bipartisan group of legislators from both Wisconsin houses drafting legislation to approve the Great Lakes agreement, said he expected lawmakers to take up the issue in the first quarter of next year. Molly Flanagan, Great Lakes water resources advocate for the National Wildlife Federation, said available fresh water will become the "new oil" as more states and countries begin looking for the resource. "Look at statistics from the United Nations and you'll see clean water is increasingly scarce throughout the world," Flanagan said. McGuinty said protection of the Great Lakes was essential for the 43 million people living in the Great Lakes region. "It's their water. It's their future. It's their quality of life that is at stake here."
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