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Drinking Water Week
American Water Works Association (5/6)
Drinking Water Week, May 4-10, is a unique opportunity for water professionals and the communities they serve to join together to recognize the vital role water plays in our daily lives.
American Wetlands Month
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (5/2)
This May will mark the 18th anniversary of American Wetlands Month, a time when EPA and its partners celebrate the vital importance of wetlands to the Nation's ecological, economic, and social health. It is also a great opportunity to discover and teach others about the important role that wetlands play in our environment and the significant benefits they provide.
Great Lakes Regional Research Information Network (GLRRIN)
GLIN's May 2008 Site of the Month (5/1)
Established in 2006 by NOAA Sea Grant, GLIN and regional partners, GLRRIN provides a powerful means to foster collaboration, acquire funding, highlight research needs and issues, and increase the overall impact of Great Lakes research. GLRRIN is a free service and offers research-related news and upcoming events, and profiles of Great Lakes researchers and their current projects.
Mother Earth Water Walk
(4/28)
Two Anishinawbe Grandmothers, and a group of Anishinawbe Women and Men have taken action regarding the water issue by walking the perimeter of the Great Lakes. The 2008 Lake Michigan walk kicked off April 26.
Shipwrecks and Maritime Tales of the Lake Erie Coastal Ohio Trail
Ohio Sea Grant (4/24)
The shipwrecks within this website are a mere sampling of the hundreds of shipwreck sites located in the depths of Lake Erie. The goal is to make the visitor aware of the rich maritime history which lies beneath the surface of Ohio's Lake Erie.
Michigan Wildlife Conservancy
(4/21)
The Michigan Wildlife Conservancy provides the technical and financial assistance that landowners and managers need to restore and maintain wildlife habitat on their own land.
What's going on in your neighborhood this month? Meet other people and learn together at recreational and educational events! Our new dynamic calendar is updated daily with current educational events.
Introduction
Pollution and solutions
Lake Superior and its tributaries
Lake Michigan and its tributaries
Lake Huron and its tributaries
Lake Erie and its tributaries
Lake Ontario and its tributaries
Connecting Channels
References and more information
The Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs) are environmentally degraded areas within the Great Lakes basin. The U.S.-Canada Water Quality Agreement, 1987 Protocol, defined 43 Great Lakes AOCs. As of July 2000, Collingwood Harbor on Lake Huron has been the only AOC to be delisted.
To qualify as an AOC, an area must contain one or more beneficial use impairments. An impaired beneficial use means a change in the chemical, physical or biological integrity of a water body sufficient to cause any of the following:
- restrictions on fish and wildlife consumption
- tainting of fish and wildlife flavor
- degradation of fish and wildlife populations
- fish tumors or other deformities
- bird or animal deformities or reproduction problems
- degradation of benthos
- restrictions on dredging activities
- eutrophication or undesirable algae
- drinking water restrictions, or taste and odor problems
- beach closings
- degradation of aesthetics
- added costs to agriculture or industry
- degradation of phytoplankton and zooplankton
- loss of fish and wildlife habitat
