Section 14: Water Use in the Great Lakes Basin and Annex 2001

Observation

In its 2000 report to governments on Protection of the Waters of the Great Lakes, the Commission noted that water quality and quantity are inextricably linked.¹

The Commission continues to be concerned about the risk to the Great Lakes from factors such as future consumption, small-scale removals, diversions, and climate change. The Commission has made recommendations to governments regarding water use in the basin and has been given a reference to report in early 2003 on progress made by basin jurisdictions in this regard.

In December 2001, the government of Canada passed amendments to the International Boundary Waters Treaty Act to better implement the Boundary Waters Treaty by prohibiting the bulk removal of boundary waters from the water basins in which they are located and requiring persons to obtain licenses from the Minister of Foreign Affairs for water-related projects that affect the natural level or flow of waters on the United States side of the border. Regulations envisioned in the amendments have not yet been issued, and the amendments are not yet in force.

Discussion

Under Annex 2001, the governors and premiers agreed to a number of commitments including:

1. preparing a new set of binding agreements as may be necessary within three years of the effective date of the Annex (June 2001)
2. developing a broad-based public participation program to ensure ongoing public input in the preparation and implementation of the binding agreements
3. establishing a decision-making standard for reviewing new proposals to withdraw water from the Great Lakes basin for diversions and major consumptive uses as well as proposals to increase existing water withdrawals
4. developing a decision support system to implement the Great Lakes Charter and Annex 2001 to ensure availability of the best information on water uses in the basin, including the role of groundwater
5. developing guidelines for the implementation of mutually agreed upon measures to promote the efficient use and conservation of water
6. developing a mechanism by which individual and cumulative impacts of water withdrawals will be assessed, and
7. identifying and implementing effective mechanisms for decision-making and dispute resolution

Pending final approval of the agreements mentioned above, the governors of the Great Lakes states will notify and consult with the premiers of Ontario and Québec on all proposals subject to the U.S. Water Resources Development Act of 1986, amended in 2000.

The Commission is pleased to note that work is proceeding apace on a number of these commitments. In particular, under the guidance of the Great Lakes Commission, the water use database for basin jurisdictions is being updated and improved and the decision support system is being developed. A high-level state and provincial task force, chartered by the governors and premiers, is developing standards to be used in assessment of the impact of proposed withdrawals and consumptive uses and to develop the institutional structure needed to support the process.

The development of the new decision-making standard will be based on the following principles: preventing or minimizing water loss from the basin through return flow and implementation of feasible water conservation measures; no significant adverse individual or cumulative impacts to the quantity or quality of the waters and water-dependent natural resources of the basin; an improvement to the waters and water-dependent natural resources of the Great Lakes basin; and compliance with the applicable state, provincial, federal and international laws and treaties.