Our Great Lakes

Highlights of Accomplishments in the Great Lakes

Background

The Great Lakes Basin ecosystem is a tremendous natural resource which contributes significantly to the health, quality of life, wealth and prosperity of the 33 million inhabitants of the Great Lakes Basin, including 9.2 million Canadians and eight of Canada's 20 largest cities. The ecosystem will account for one-half of Canada's population over the next 20 years. The Great Lakes Basin plays a vital role in supporting Canada's industrial capacity: 45% of Canadian industries are located in the Great Lakes Basin, including 90% of Canadian auto production and 70% of Canadian steel production and 25% of Canada's agricultural capacity is located within the Great Lakes Basin, contributing $180 Billion annually to Canada US trade. The Great Lakes are the direct source of drinking water for 8.5 million Canadians and impact the health and well being of a further three million Canadians living downstream along the St. Lawrence River. The Great Lakes provide water for shipping, power generation and industrial processes, support a $100 million commercial fishery industry and a recreational fishing industry that contributes over $350 million annually to the Canadian economy, and are used by 1.5 million recreational boaters. The Basin covers an area of roughly 774 000 square kilometers, including almost all of southern Ontario, parts of northern Ontario and much of eight U.S. states.

Signs of Progress

Once significantly degraded by over use and mismanagement, signs of an ecosystem well on its way to recovery are now clearly evident. Levels of toxic contaminants are declining - the lakes today are cleaner than they have been in 50 years. Species are recovering - sentinel species such as the osprey, bald eagle, and lake trout are living and thriving in the Basin, signaling a return of ecosystem health. Over the past decade, significant progress has been made in cleaning up problems from the past, preventing and controlling pollution, and conserving human health and the environment.

Partnerships have been key in achieving this progress. Government of Canada partners include Environment Canada, Health Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, Transport Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Parks Canada Agency, and Public Works and Government Services Canada. The Ontario Ministries of Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs have also played an important role, as have municipalities, United States federal and state agencies, the private sector, public interest groups, community organizations, individuals and others.

Much has been accomplished, but much remains to be done to restore ecosystem health and anticipate and prevent further threats to the health of the Great Lakes Basin ecosystem arising from population growth, climate change, the invasion of exotic species and other factors. The following presents highlights of the key accomplishments, taken from the Third Report of Progress under the Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem and the 2001 Canada-Ontario Agreement Portraits.

Cleaning Up Problems from the Past

Evidence of Progress

• Areas of Concern (AOCs) are being restored.
• Water quality is improving; surface waters are still among the best sources of drinking water in the world
• Fishing grounds support a vibrant sports and commercial fishery
• Stormwater run-off is being controlled.
• Combined sewer overflows are being eliminated
• Improvements are being made to sewage treatment plant operations
• Fish and wildlife habitats are being restored and protected
• Recreational opportunities have been enhanced.
• The Osprey, the Bald Eagle and the Peregrine Falcon have made a comeback through the lower Great Lakes.
• In Lake Superior, there has been a resurgence in wild, self-reproducing Lake Trout population
• Trumpeter Swan has been returned to the marshes of southern Lake Huron

Key Accomplishments

• Collingwood Harbour Area of Concern has been fully restored, making it the only delisted AOC of 42 in the Canadian and U.S. Great Lakes Basin.
• Approximately 1/3 of the beneficial uses in
• OCs have been restored.
• In the Spanish Harbour AOC all recommended remedial actions have been implemented and it is now in a stage of natural recovery
• Development of new and innovative technology for sewage treatment plans has resulted for example in a potential savings of $33 million in Windsor when compared to more conventional technologies.
• Successful full-scale remediation of sediment at Atlas Steels in the Niagara River AOC has been completed
• Improvements in treating combined sewer overflows (CSOs) are resulting in beaches remaining open for longer periods of time in Toronto, Hamilton, and other lakefront communities.
• More than 60% of the actions necessary to restore AOCs have been implemented.
• Local water quality in the Thunder Bay Harbour is improving through the implementation of a $10 million sediment remediation project.
• Substantial fish habitat has been created in the Hamilton Harbour AOC. Fish species diversity and abundance are also improving.
• Recovery plans for five threatened species have been completed; implementation is under way for a further 13 recovery plans. In Ontario, the goal of 10 pairs of peregrine falcons has been met, fledging a minimum of 15 young annually and the species has been downlisted from endangered to threatened under COSEWIC.
• Over 9 500 hectares of wetlands have been protected, approximately 4 400 through acquisitions and 5 150 through other methods such as easements. More than 12 750 hectares of wetlands have been rehabilitated, with an additional 1 400 hectares underway.

Preventing and Controlling Pollution

Evidence of Progress

• The Great Lakes are cleaner than they have been in the last 50 years.
• Municipal, industrial and agricultural sectors are reducing toxic discharges to the Great Lakes.
• Science and monitoring in the Great Lakes Basin is contributing to the negotiation of international agreements to prevent the long range transport of toxics in the atmosphere.

Key Accomplishments

• An overall reduction of 71% in the use, generation and release of seven priority toxic chemicals has been achieved. The reduction target for alkyl-lead has been met.
• Reductions have been achieved for octachlorostyrene
• (86%), PCDD (dioxins) (77%) and PCDF (furans) (77%);mercury (78%); hexachlorobenzene (61%);benzo(a)pyrene (20%).
• Other priority toxics have been reduced through voluntary pollution prevention initiatives. Examples include: pentachlorophenol (50%), tributyl tin (approximately 50%),1,4-dichlorobenzene (40%), cadmium (25%) and PAHs (20%).
• An 82% reduction in discharges of chlorinated toxic substances has been achieved, as well as the virtual elimination of aqueous emissions of dioxin and furans to the Great Lakes through federal and provincial pulp and paper regulations.
• Point source loads of 18 priority toxics identified through the Niagara River Toxics Management Plan have been reduced by 99%. End of pipe concentrations for these chemicals now meet open lake water quality objectives and essentially meet Canadian obligations in this binational initiative.
• Toxic and hazardous waste reductions of 390 000 tonnes per year through MOUs with the following industrial sectors: Automotive Manufacturing, Metal Finishing, Automotive Parts, Printing and Graphics, and Dry Cleaning.
• The elimination of five banned pesticides from commercial sectors on the Canadian side of the Basin has been confirmed.
• More than 50% of the high level PCBs which were in storage have been destroyed, exceeding the year 2000 target.
• The source of toxic chemicals reaching the Great Lakes through the atmosphere from outside the Great Lakes Basin has been documented.
• The Great Lakes Binational Strategy was signed in1997, committing Canada and the U.S. to interim targets and schedules towards eliminating persistent, bioaccumulative toxic substances and to an assessment of atmospheric deposition to the Great Lakes Basin.

Conserving Human Health and the Environment

Evidence of Progress

• Improvements in AOCs and reductions in toxic substances have resulted in measurable improvements in the quality of water and the overall health of the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem. There have been steady declines in many key pollutants, leading to declines in contaminant levels in human tissues, including organochlorine contaminants in breast milk.
• Levels of some persistent toxic substances measured in the tissues of wildlife species continue to decline. At current low levels, trends over five years are difficult to detect. Data indicate that there have been recent increases in some contaminants within some fish communities.
• More sentinel species such as the Peregrine Falcon, Osprey, Lake Trout and the Bald Eagle are living in the Great Lakes Basin.

Key Accomplishments

• Populations of wild Lake Trout have been restored in Lake Superior.
• Treatment of larval sea lamprey in the St. Marys River is expected to reduce the population of this exotic species by 75% enabling lake trout restoration in Lake Huron.
• Over 500 volunteers are participating in the Binational Marsh Monitoring Program.
• Scientific understanding of the relationship between environmental contaminants and human health has increased. As a result, researchers have been able to demonstrate a strong association between cardiorespiratory admissions to hospital and air pollution in the Great Lakes Basin.
• The Trumpeter Swan has been returned to the marshes of Southern Lake Huron
• Health-related indicators have been developed for the Great Lakes Basin population.
• Development of Lakewide Management Plans for Lakes Ontario, Superior and Erie is well underway.
• The sustainability of Ontario's agricultural sector is improving - over 16 000 Ontario farmers have participated in the development and implementation of 8 300 environmental action plans.