The draft of a new report on protecting Great Lakes waters is available to the public. The 2025 Review of the International Joint Commission’s (IJC) Report on the “Protection of the Waters of the Great Lakes” was issued in draft form in July. The IJC was established by a 1909 treaty between the U.S. and Canada.
An upcoming webinar will be held on August 14 at noon to give the public an overview of the preliminary findings of the draft report. You can register here for that.
The 50-page draft report looks at how Canada and the U.S. have been managing the waters of the Great Lakes, and keeping the two governments informed about issues, disputes, or threats to the Great Lakes, which contain 20% of the accessible fresh water on the planet.
The draft report is part of a second ten-year review to address issues raised by the two governments, including "the consumptive use, diversion, and removal of water from the Great Lakes."
Beyond that, it has several recommendations.
Some of them are regarding better data on diversions into and out of the Great Lakes basin as well as better information on withdrawals of groundwater within the basin.
It suggests improving climate modeling to better understand how the lakes will be affected.
It recommends keeping track of new water demands from industries such as data centers.
It also recommends that the water rights of Indigenous nations be recognized, instead of treating them as just stakeholders such as industry and shipping.
The IJC has studied the removal of water from and within the Great Lakes basin for more than 40 years.
In the executive summary of the draft report, it says since the first ten-year review in 2015, no new or increased diversions of Great Lakes water have been approved. It does note three exceptions under the Great Lakes Compact to supply water to the cities of Waukesha and Racine and the Village of Somers, all in Wisconsin.
The IJC is accepting public comments until August 31.
You can email your thoughts to PWGL@IJC.org or mail to: Secretary, U.S. Section, International Joint Commission, 1717 H Street NW, Suite 835, Washington, D.C. 20006.
