12/20/2006

Forum

Don't pull the plug on the Lakes

BY F. NED DIKMEN

Any water diversion from the Great Lakes would imperil boating.

With marginal lake levels already, removing water from the lakes would tip the balance and make boat access impossible.

The consequences would be ruinous for boaters and for the entire region.

The Great Lakes are a trillion-dollar asset, an irreplaceable environmental habitat and an unparalleled recreational resource.

But, they have long been threatened by a variety of forces.

Ill-advised diversions of water outside our drainage basin would have a ruinous effect on the lakes, on the economy and on boaters, a group that contributes millions of dollars to the region and makes an untold difference in maintaining the lakes' sustainability.

It is imperative that we prevent any diversions.

Time and time again, efforts to protect the lakes have been undermined by a lack of regional consensus.

An interstate agreement is absolutely essential to preventing one bad actor from ruining the lakes for everyone.

This month, Ohio took the lead in implementing such a consensus. The General Assembly's coming endorsement of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact is a landmark move toward securing the irreplaceable resources of the Great Lakes and ensuring the viability of our region's most vital travel and recreation destination.

While this is a step in the right direction, Ohio's endorsement does nothing by itself.

If, however, the other Great Lakes states join Ohio, a regional water board would be established to regulate all water withdrawals from the Lakes.

It would ensure that states could ward off undesirable diversion plans and preserve our greatest resource: our water.

Billions of dollars are at stake, but more than money hangs in the balance.

While the Great Lakes sustain much of our economy, they also provide us with an endless and largely unspoiled playground shared by all.

Boaters can adapt to the naturally fluctuating lake levels that are the status quo.

But anything that would alter that equation would imperil access to many boating marinas and the lakes they lead into.

Less water would be devastating for everyone and leave 4.3 million boaters with nowhere to go.

This would ruin the billion-dollar boating industry.

With the current marginal lake levels, any tipping of the scales would compromise what we have.

The Army Corps of Engineers dredges the lakes for commercial shipping, but no such accommodations are made for the millions of recreational boaters who rely on the lakes and contribute millions of dollars to local economies.

Boaters would be seriously impacted by — and are adamantly opposed to — any diversion plans, and they are not the only ones.

Ohio's endorsement of the Great Lakes Compact is a vital first step toward ensuring an environmentally sustainable lake system for all of us, but it cannot be the last.

To pull the plug on diversions and over-development, the seven remaining Great Lakes states must act immediately and with one voice.

Otherwise, our greatest resource will be drained, and boaters and all citizens will be left with a shallow, despoiled burden.

About the author:
F. Ned Dikmen is Chairman of the Great Lakes Boating Federation