Water Pollutions In the Great Lakes

"The pollution of our waterways became a national issue in June of 1969, the day that the Cuyahoga River, flowing through Cleveland, Ohio, on its way to Lake Erie, caught on fire because it was so polluted. Although this was not the first time that the Cuyahoga River had been in flames, the 1969 fire caught the attention of the nation and the fight began for increased water pollution controls, which eventually led to the Great Lakes Water Quality Act and Clean Water Act in the 1970s. Water pollution is defined as a change in the chemical, physical and biological health of a waterway due to human activity. Ways that humans have affected the quality of the Great Lakes water over the centuries include sewage disposal, toxic contamination through heavy metals and pesticides, overdevelopment of the water's edge, runoff from agriculture and urbanization, and air pollution."
http://www.great-lakes.net/teach/pollution/water/water1.html

The Great Lakes make up 20% of the worlds fresh water near the surface. and provides drinking water to 35 million people, both Americans and Canadian. The lakes are also host to many different types of animal life and shipping lanes that make them a valuable lifeline to the whole country.

"In the basin of Lake Michigan and nearby lakes industrial plants not in compliance amount to 44% in Canada and only 7% in USA. In hazardous waste treatment facilities, out of 350 different chemicals only 62 are regulated by EPA. In Ontario out of 1200 municipal sewage treatment plants only 154 are regulated,
International Joint Commission has 350 hazardous pollutants on its list.
These include 11 critical ( TCDD, PCB, TCDF,DDT, mirex, and PAH which are not regulated) and 124 priority pollutants."
http://tigger.uic.edu/~maqkhan/LAS100/GreatLakesPollution.html


To read more into this topic please click on the following links:
http://www.great-lakes.net/teach/pollution/water/water1.html
http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-75-1390/science_technology/great_lakes_pollution/
http://tigger.uic.edu/~maqkhan/LAS100/GreatLakesPollution.html
http://www.cela.ca/faq/cltn_detail.shtml?x=1503