Expert Workshop on Managing Groundwater Resources in the Great Lakes Basin: Securing Our Future—Discussion Paper
Gerry Galloway and Ralph Pentland
January 01, 2002
- English
Groundwater is a vital, but under-appreciated natural resource in the Great Lakes Basin, one that meets many human needs and contributes significantly to the hydrology of the Great Lakes and the health of its ecosystems. The Basin contains a large volume of groundwater: an estimated 1,000 mi3, or the amount equivalent to that found in Lake Michigan, lies in underground aquifers. Groundwater is used for domestic purposes by about 11.5 million residents in Canada and the United States, and is also used extensively for agriculture and industrial purposes. This groundwater also contributes more than 50% of the flow from rivers and streams to the Great Lakes and plays a pivotal role in sustaining wetlands, freshwater fisheries, and other biological resources. Groundwater challenges in the Great Lakes Basin continue into its outflow path, the St Lawrence River and much of what is noted in this paper about the Great Lakes Basin applies equally to the St. Lawrence Basin.
Authors Gerry Galloway and Ralph Pentland note that there have historically been two major stresses on the groundwater resources of the Great Lakes—overuse, illustrated most clearly by the declines in groundwater levels in Chicago and Milwaukee metropolitan areas, and contamination, illustrated most recently by the May 2000 E. coli tragedy in Walkerton, Ontario in which seven people died because of the failure to detect contaminated groundwater. For the most part, these stresses have been considered and addressed at the regional and local level.
At the Great Lakes Basin-scale, the recognition of the importance of groundwater has increased because of proposals to withdraw water (both surface and groundwater) for export out of the region. A request by the Nova Group in 1998 to ship surface water by tanker from Lake Superior to Asia led to a vigorous round of Federal, State, Provincial and citizen debate over what steps should be taken to prevent damage to the Great Lakes ecosystem from withdrawals.
A more recent proposal was made in 2001 by the Perrier Corporation to build a water bottling plant in central Michigan supplied with groundwater. While Perrier was successful in gaining approval for its plant, the proposal raised strong citizen opposition and posed questions about the adequacy of regulations on groundwater withdrawals.
Today, those concerned about the health of the Great Lakes face significant challenges. There are real and potential demands for water both from surface and subsurface sources at a time when the rules governing these withdrawals are incomplete, and the very nature of groundwater and its relationship with surface water and biological systems are poorly understood. In addition, climate change in the region threatens to reduce water supplies and further exacerbate the demands for use of groundwater.
The discussion paper was developed as a catalyst to stimulate an in-depth and extended dialogue on the groundwater resources of the Great Lakes Basin. It provides an overview of groundwater in the Great Lakes and the institutional and legal setting that governs the use, protection, diversion and removal of water from the Basin. The paper also contains, in draft form, a desired Vision for the Future and nine Principles that can provide the required direction to realize that vision.