The Great LakesKatie, Eliza, and David

History/ Background18th and 19th centuries: Industries and

individuals during the often used rivers and lakes as garbage cans

1920’s: The lakes had been invaded by 162 nonnative species (genetic pollution)

2006: on average more than 100 Olympic swimming pools of sewage each day was being released from surrounding cities

2007: estimated 460 lbs of pollutants in the Great Lakes

IssuesPollutants can take up to

100 years to be flushed out to the sea

About ½ the toxic compounds entering the lakes come from atmospheric deposition of pesticides and coal burning power plants and other toxins

Farmers use fertilizersBioaccumulation

Importance“Imagine 17,000 dump trucks pulling up to

your beach and tipping their toxic load straight into the drinking water of 40 million people,”

The Great Lakes contain 95% of the fresh water in the US and 1/5 of the worlds fresh water

At least 38 million people in the US and Canada obtain their drinking water from the Great Lakes

Future IssuesCost a lot of money to clean upDifficult to prevent because of nonpoint

source pollutionDisease

SolutionsCanada and the

United States established the International Joint Commission (IJC)

Educate the public on ways to prevent further pollution

Create stricter laws, to prevent pollution.