The Great Lakes region is home to 103 million people, 48.5 million jobs and 20% of the world's fresh surface water. The region's people and economy depend on clean water.

Read the Petition Letter
Why is the Great Lakes Basin Important?
The Great Lakes and Global Warming
Protect Water Quality at Home
Great Lakes Water Facts

Support Nature Canada!
Call: 613-562-3447
-or- Donate Online

Protect Water Quality in the
Great Lakes Basin

Millions of families rely on the Great Lakes Basin for a clean, healthy source of drinking water.

The Petition Letter You'll be Sending:

To:
The Prime Minister's Office, Canada
The Environmental Protection Agency, U.S.

The Great Lakes region is a unique cross-border economic, social and cultural community. The health and quality of life of the region's inhabitants, human and wildlife, depends greatly on the environment – on clean air and clean water, and on a healthy and safe place to build a sustainable future.

The people of Canada and the United States need to develop and share a common vision for the region and work together as stewards to protect and improve the unique shared Great Lakes/St. Lawrence resource for use by future generations.

I call on the Governments of Canada and the United States to do all they can to protect the region's waters through close cooperation and coordination.

I call on all federal, provincial and state Governments to heed the advice of the International Joint Commission and work together to upgrade the region's wastewater infrastructure, clean up areas affected by contamination, protect the region's waters from invasive species, and conserve what little habitat is left for endangered species.

Thank you for considering my views.

Sign this Petition Now!

Why is the Great Lakes Basin Important?

Girl in Canoe The Great Lakes region – Ontario and Quebec plus eight U.S. states – is home to 103 million people. If it were taken as a country the Great Lakes regional non-farm economy, at $4.1 trillion GDP, would be ranked as the third largest in the world, after only the United States and Japan.

The region supports 48.5 million jobs and is home to nineteen of the top-ranked 100 universities in the world. One of the reasons the region developed into such a global strength is because the Great Lakes region contains about 20% of the world's fresh surface water and is a place where people want to live and work and enjoy the recreational opportunities provided in the Great Lakes St. Lawrence River basin.

The region is a unique economic, social and cultural community and a vital global hub of activity. Furthermore, the health and quality of life of the region's residents depends greatly on the environment - on clean air and clean water, and on a healthy and safe place to build a sustainable future.

The Great Lakes and Global Warming

The influence the Great Lakes have on the surrounding climate is considerable. Changes to lake levels, temperature and salinity, brought about in part by global warming, could have lasting impacts on local weather systems.

Warmer temperatures may lead to an increase in toxic blooms, for example, and lower seasonal water levels will increase the risk of contamination from urban run-off or rural soil erosion.

The potential implications are enormous and efforts must be taken to better understand the impacts of global warming on the Great Lakes, and how these might be mitigated.

Stronger water conservation efforts could protect water resources, habitat and quality, and help us respond to the impacts of global warming. National water conservation programs, public education, incentives and standards for industry, agriculture and homes need to be strengthened.

Protect Water Quality at Home

Sewage Drain Pipe The way we treat our water resources can affect our health, that of our families and the ecosystem.

You can protect water quality at home!

Think twice before dumping something down the drain. Prescription drugs, ibuprofen, bug spray, sunscreen, mouthwash and antibacterial soap have all been found lingering in our water supply.
Choose alternatives to phosphate-containing and other hazardous cleaners that might ultimately end up in our drinking water. Vinegar, baking soda and corn starch are less harmful substitutes that still get the job done!
Support Nature Canada's Communities in Action Program, which preserves freshwater resources across Canada, and help our campaign to establish a national system of marine protected areas by 2012.

Great Lakes Facts

The Great Lakes are the largest system of fresh, surface water on earth, containing nearly 20% of the world supply.
The Great Lakes Basin covers an area of 750,000 square kilometers. (466,028.4 miles)
The combined shoreline of the Great Lakes is equal to about 45% of the earth's circumference.
The Great Lakes Basin is home to 90% of Ontario's population and 40% of Canada's economic activity.
Each year, the Great Lakes contribute $180 billion to Canada-U.S. trade.
Only 1% of the waters of the Great Lakes are renewed each year by snow melt and rain.
Forty percent of Canada's boundary with the United States is composed of water.

Sign the Petition to Help Protect Water Quality!