The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin of North America stretches across eight U.S. States and two Canadian Provinces. Containing about 21 percent of the world's surface fresh water and 90 percent of North America's, they provide drinking water for more than 40 million people. Encompassing 244,160 square km of surface water, the Lakes represent the world’s largest inland waterway system, extending 3,800 km and containing more than 100 commercial ports. In addition to the States and Provinces, there are more than 160 indigenous nations located within the Great Lakes States and Provinces. The GDP of the region is nearly US$8 trillion, making it the third largest in the world if it were its own country. Over 107 million people are located in the Great Lakes States and Provinces, with major cities including New York, Chicago, Toronto, Detroit, and Montreal.
Under U.S. and Canadian law, the primary responsibility for managing these water resources rests with the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence U.S. States and Canadian Provinces. Recognizing the importance of the Lakes to the region's economy, environment and citizens, in the early 200s the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers came together to develop new agreements, systems and laws to work together to manage the this critically important resource. Through a process that then U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Leavitt called "... a textbook example of collaboration—two nations, multiple jurisdictions, NGOs, agriculture and industry—all working together for the greater good of the Lakes," the Governors and Premiers created two complementary sets of agreements that would ensure cooperation across the international border at the sub-national level while providing legal enforceability within the U.S. States and Canada Provinces. Specifically, the Great Lakes St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement and the Great Lakes St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact.
The presentation will focus on: 1) the process used to develop the multi-jurisdictional water management agreements between the States and Provinces; 2) the details of the two agreements and how they have been implemented; 3) how commitments have been fulfilled on such issues as water use data gathering using a common and consistent set of reporting protocols; 4) how water use decisions are made; and, 5) how the States and Provinces work with indigenous nations and stakeholders to ensure that there is broad public support for the agreements and their ongoing implementation.