Other regions of the country covet Great Lakes water
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TOLEDO, OH -- There's a major controversy brewing over a major resource just miles away from us. The Great Lakes are among our most important regional assets and some states are trying to take a piece of them.
The Great Lakes are the world's largest body of fresh water. They take up 2 1/4 million acres of Ohio's land. And they're an extremely important economic resource for us. Other countries recognize that, which is why they are trying to take our water.
With the droughts down south and the wildfires out west, our water has been coveted. But this is nothing new. For years, other states and even countries have been trying to take our water, openly and behind our backs.
This is one of the reasons why the states that border the Great Lakes have created a compact.
"The idea of that is to both try and protect the Great Lakes from being diverted to outside of the basin, but also to provide for more management and wiser use of the water here inside the basin," says Ken Kilbert, a professor of law at the University of Toledo who teaches a class on water law.
We use the Great Lakes for transportation, manufacturing, agriculture, recreation and consumption. And all of the lakes with the exception of Lake Erie are seeing reduced water levels. This is why local governments believe we really can't spare any water.
The Great Lakes - St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact will have to be ratified by all the states in the Great Lakes basin and then will make it's way to Congress for approval.
The University of Toledo College of Law will be holding a conference on the subject, Friday, November 16th, from 8:00am until 3:30pm. Call 419-530-2712 for more information.
