Great Lakes water quality agreement

Plain language summary

The Great Lakes are shared by Canada and the United States and are vital to the well-being of millions of people. Among other things, they:

• contain almost 20% of world's surface freshwater;
• sustain 4,000 species of plants and animals;
• Are the basis for billions of dollars in economic activity;
• Provide drinking water for tens of millions of Canadians and Americans.

The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) between Canada and the United States was first signed in 1972. It identifies shared priorities and actions needed to restore and protect the Great Lakes.

The Agreement was modernized in 2012 to reflect new knowledge and tackle all issues affecting Great Lakes water quality and ecosystem health.

Objective

The 2012 Canada-United States GLWQA commits the governments of Canada and the United States to restore and protect the Great Lakes to achieve a series of objectives including: being a source of safe, high-quality drinking water; allowing for swimming and other recreational use, unrestricted by environmental quality concerns; allowing for human consumption of fish and wildlife unrestricted by concerns due to harmful pollutants.

Key elements

The GLWQA includes commitments to both short-term and long-term action; enhances transparency and accountability; reflects current knowledge and understanding; and focuses on anticipating and preventing new problems.

The GLWQA comprehensively addresses priority challenges to the water quality and ecosystem health of the Great Lakes organized by 10 issue annexes: Areas of Concern; Lakewide Management; Chemicals of Mutual Concern; Nutrients; Discharges from Vessels; Aquatic Invasive Species; Habitat and Species; Groundwater; Climate Change Impacts; and Science.

Through the Agreement, Canada and the United States (the Parties) commit to work toward attaining a series of general and specific objectives related to the quality of the waters of Great Lakes.

Expected results

Through the Agreement, Canada and the United States, in cooperation and consultation with other levels of government, indigenous peoples, non-governmental entities and the public, work to restore and protect Great Lakes water quality and ecosystem health.

Canada’s involvement

As a Party to the Agreement, Canada is responsible for implementing programs and reporting on progress in restoring and protecting the Great Lakes.

Environment and Climate Change Canada leads implementation of the Agreement, working in collaboration with a number of departments, agencies and organizations on both sides of the border representing governments, Indigenous peoples, watershed management agencies, and other local public agencies. Canada collaborates and cooperates with the Government of Ontario through the 2021 Canada-Ontario Agreement on Great Lakes Water Quality and Ecosystem Health, which helps coordinate the activities of seven federal departments and three provincial ministries in order to support implementation of the GLWQA.

Results / progress

Activities

The Great Lakes Executive Committee (GLEC) serves as a forum to advise and assist the parties in coordinating, implementing, reviewing and reporting on programs, practices and measures that support the implementation of the GLWQA. The GLEC, co-chaired by Environment and Climate Change Canada and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, includes senior-level representatives from Federal Governments, State and Provincial Governments, Tribal Governments, First Nations, Métis, Municipal Governments, watershed management agencies, and other local public agencies.  A formal committee structure has also been established to engage GLEC member organizations in working binationally to develop and implement actions to achieve commitments for each of the ten issue areas identified in the GLWQA.

Reports

Every three years under the GLWQA, the Parties are required to report publically on their progress through the Progress Report of the Parties, as well as report on the state of the Great Lakes using a suite of science-based, comprehensive ecosystem indicators. In addition, other issue specific reporting requirements are set out in the GLWQA Annexes. Progress reports can be found online on the GLWQA website. The International Joint Commission has been charged with reviewing and evaluating the Parties’ progress. The Commission’s Triennial Assessment of Progress reports can be found online on the International Joint Commission website. Recommendations from the Commission are reviewed and taken into consideration as appropriate during GLWQA implementation.

Results

As documented in Progress Reports of the Parties, the Parties continue to make significant progress across the range of issues addressed by the GLWQA.

As GLWQA implementation efforts continue, further information will be made available on the GLWQA website.