GBA 2022 - Summer Update

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GLWQA Achievements and Shortfalls by Annex Annex Name Achievements

Shortfalls & Outstanding Matters

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Areas of concern (AOCs)

Large number of highly degraded areas throughout the Great Lakes have been remediated.

There is still a long list of AOCs with outstanding remediation requirements – 13 in Canada and 24 in the US. There is a lack of follow-up on, and local support for, remediated sites. Algae problems are multiplying as water temperatures increase. As GBA and others have repeatedly pointed out, there has been too much reporting on the status of each lake and not enough action to address problems. GBA and others have made many submissions over the years to request swifter action and a major expansion of the list of CMCs, as many dangerous chemicals are not included and the list is rarely expanded to address new toxins. Canadian Environmental Law Association is the lead in Canada. Many further improvements to municipal infrastructure are needed to reduce and ultimately eliminate sewage overflows. More support for farms to further reduce their nutrient runoffs is necessary. In Canada, despite all these efforts to reduce nutrient loading, open net aquaculture operations in Lake Huron are still permitted to dump large amounts of phosphorous in the water, which GBA has been objecting to for over 23 years. As GBA has been urging for decades, these regulations should have been introduced much sooner than they were with stricter requirements. This would have avoided some of the invasive species establishing themselves in the Great Lakes. The first 50 years of the GLWQA saw a large number of highly impactful species establish themselves, such as zebra and quagga mussels, round goby, and spiny waterflea. More effort is likely needed to eradicate grass carp from the system. Going forward we need to: continue to be vigilant; find new ways to control existing species and prevent new ones; and continually look at new technology and scientific advancements to find solutions. GBA reports regularly on the status of Asian carp and practical measures to mitigate the spread of invasives. Since 1972, many wetlands have been degraded or destroyed, fisheries have declined, and phragmites has spread. Much work needs to be done to restore more wetlands, eradicate phragmites, and restore fisheries. All the GB4 are involved in phragmites eradication in the Bay and we have been singled out as one of the best examples of effective community action in the Great Lakes. Since it is estimated that around 50% of the water entering the Great Lakes system comes directly or indirectly from groundwater, continuing to advance our understanding to inform action needed to improve water quality should be a key future component/focus for the GLWQA. Gaining a full understanding of the impacts of climate change on water, air temperature, precipitation, and ice cover is vital to informing policy, strategy, and action across all GLWQA annexes. GBA’s action on water levels issues is now closely linked to climate change dynamics. Action to integrate traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) with western science under the GLWQA is relatively recent and a lot more work is needed on this.

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Lakewide management

Good program to coordinate action on each lake among the relevant government agencies which GBA has participated in. Progress made on banning a number of chemicals following good research on their effects on water quality and human health.

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Chemicals of mutual concern (CMCs)

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Nutrients

Some progress made on controlling nutrient run-off into the Great Lakes – from farms, for instance.

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Discharges from vessels

Ballast water regulations have been introduced and recently tightened in both the US and Canada.

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Aquatic invasive species

Far fewer aquatic invasive species are now able to invade the Great Lakes than did so in the early years of the GLWQA due to steady improvements in controls. Asian carp have mainly been kept out. Sea lamprey numbers are kept in check.

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Habitat and species

Some progress on restoring wetlands and adding to protected land and waters.

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Groundwater Improvements in understanding the

dynamics of groundwater and its importance to water quality. The International Joint Commission (IJC) has played a major role.

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Climate change impacts

Some good work on the potential impacts of climate change on the system has been done.

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Science

Significant progress on coordinating, integrating, synthesizing, sharing, reporting, and effectively communicating GLWQA scientific work to enhance restoration, protection, and conservation of the Great Lakes.

www.georgianbay.ca

GBA UPDATE Summer 2022

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