Great Lakes News

Resources

Resources

Great Lakes Now

Detroit Public Television’s Great Lakes Bureau, GreatLakesNow.org, shares stories about the unique culture and history of the Great Lakes basin and explains the ways the fresh water of the Great Lakes generates jobs and economic activity and creates a wealth of recreational opportunities.

Great Lakes Daily News

Great Lakes Daily News, formerly GLIN Daily News, is a collection of news articles of interest to the Great Lakes community, curated daily by Great Lakes Commission staff.

Great Lakes Today

Great Lakes Today, a new Regional Journalism Collaborative, increases coverage of the iconic lakes and the people who live in the region.

Great Lakes Fishing Commission 

The Great Lakes Fishery Commission, operating through the 1954 Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries, today facilitates successful cross-border cooperation that ensures the two nations work together to improve and perpetuate this fishery.

Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition’s mission is to secure a sustainable Great Lakes restoration plan and the federal funding to implement it.

Great Lakes Protection Fund

The Fund is a mission-based investor. We fund projects because of their expected benefits to the health of the Great Lakes ecosystem and use several criteria to evaluate project ideas:

Great Lakes Region Pivots From Fossil Fuels

In shift from coal and oil, water use and quality hang in the balance.

Waukesha Another Step Closer To Great Lakes Water

A regional committee found that the city meets the requirements for an out-of-basin diversion, with conditions.

Great Lakes States Take Halting Steps Toward Water Protections

Governments in the nation’s most water-rich region are responding…

Big Investment Updates Great Lakes Shipping

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New technology and ships make maritime commerce more efficient,…

Great Lakes Groundwater

PFAS: What You Need To Know

Chemical contaminants called PFAS, toxic to humans at minuscule doses, are the tip of the spear for threats to groundwater in Michigan and nationally.

Michigan waited years to heed warnings on PFAS dangers, expert says

By Jim Malewitz, Bridge Magazine

Infographic: Household Wells in the United States

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Thirteen percent of Americans, some 42 million people, use a household well for their water supply.

In Senate PFAS Hearing, Government Officials Say Regulatory Response Will Take Years

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Officials from multiple federal agencies testified at a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing.

Michigan’s Groundwater Emergency

Groundwater in Michigan is “compromised and deteriorated.”

Groundwater: The Sixth Great Lake

Despite its abundance, is groundwater a second-class citizen?

Michigan PFAS by the numbers: How much is unsafe?

Confusion runs rampant about PFAS dangers. The federal government and states can’t agree on how much is unsafe for states. Here’s a primer on what’s known so far.

Remembering Michigan’s PBB Crisis

Contamination of the food-supply chain in Michigan in the 1970s was one of the worst mass poisonings in U.S. history. The events still resonate today.

Drip by Drip, Septic Systems Foul Michigan Waters

The state relies on backyard sewage treatment more than most.

Fastest-Growing Michigan County Reckons With Groundwater Pollution and Depletion

Ottawa County leaders recognize the need to act on groundwater.

Kentucky AG Investigates Rural Water System That Has Been Failing for Decades

Kentucky’s top lawyer opens inquiry into the management of the troubled Martin County Water District.

Fear and Fury in Michigan Town Where Air Force Contaminated Water

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Some residents can’t drink the water or eat the fish. Now they’re…

Great Lakes Water Law

Waukesha Great Lakes Diversion Approved

Governors vote to allow Wisconsin city to use Lake Michigan water in first exception to binational agreement.

Waukesha Awaits Great Lakes Water Diversion Decision

Approval of Wisconsin city’s request for Lake Michigan water is first test of bi-national agreement.

Waukesha Another Step Closer To Great Lakes Water

A regional committee found that the city meets the requirements for an out-of-basin diversion, with conditions.
Lake Michigan Great Lakes ice Great Lakes Compact water diversions public trust doctrine

Binational Commission Calls For Public Trust Framework For Great Lakes

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States and provinces have made significant strides to prevent…

A Discussion With Lana Pollack, U.S. Chair of the International Joint Commission

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Lana Pollack, U.S. Chair of the IJC, talks with Circle of Blue last month in Chicago about some of the most pressing issues in the Great Lakes region.
Data provided by the City of Waukesha and given to Circle of Blue by Steve Edlund show clearly that water levels in the City’s deep aquifer supply are rising, not falling as Waukesha officials assert in an application to draw its water from the Great Lakes.

In Apparent Contradiction, Data Shows Waukesha’s Groundwater Levels Rising, Not Falling

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City’s case for diverting Great Lakes Water appears significantly weakened.
Waukesha considered and then drawing its drinking water from the Fox River due to cost, health and environmental issues.

Waukesha Presses First Test of Great Lakes Water Compact

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Drinking Water Diversion Proposed For Out Of Basin City

Water Law: Public Trust May Be Fresh Approach to Protecting Great Lakes

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Canadian and American advocates join to promote big oversight idea of the "commons."

Congress, Michigan Legislature Asked to Fix Leaks in Great Lakes Compact

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It’s been more than a year since eight states agreed to prevent large-scale diversions from the Great Lakes, the most abundant source of clean freshwater on the planet. The passage of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact, completed after ten years of campaigning by public interest organizations, legislative leaders, and governors of both parties, was meant to permanently secure the globally significant storehouse of water contained in the Great Lakes.

Waukesha’s Water Woes Herald Test of Great Lakes Compact

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Milwaukee Water for Sale? Waukesha’s Water Woes Herald Test of Great Lakes CompactThe Great lakes Compact may be put to the test soon as the city of Waukesha, Wisconsin seeks permission to tap Lake Michigan's water supply.

Cashing in on Water: Small Business Owner Capitalizes on Controversial Commodity

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COPPERAS COVE, Texas -- As water becomes an increasingly political…

Compact Impact: Great Lakes Legislation Now Active

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As the Great Lakes Compact goes into effect to protect Midwest…

Great Lakes Energy

Congress Strengthens Great Lakes Oil Pipeline Oversight

Pipeline safety bill includes three provisions directed at Line…

Great Lakes Oil Pipeline in Violation of Operating Agreement, Groups Allege

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Michigan urged to terminate Line 5 crossing in the Straits of Mackinac.

Study: Line 5 Oil Spill Would Inundate Large Swaths Of Great Lakes Shoreline

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Researchers identify areas where oil could spread in Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.

Great Lakes Oil Pipeline Not ‘Vital’, Report Finds

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Twin oil pipelines running below the Straits of Mackinac are…

Lawsuit Asks For Regulations To Address Underwater Oil Pipeline Spills

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National Wildlife Federation says federal agency has allowed…

Line 5 Pipeline Task Force Highlights Weakness in Enbridge Management

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Pipeline owner criticized for lapses in inspection and disclosure.

Michigan Pipeline Task Force Sets Stage for Line 5 Closure

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Report calls for independent analysis of the risks, alternatives, and cost of a big oil spill in the Mackinac Straits.

Great Lakes Line 5 Oil Pipeline Safety Study Nears

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Michigan will reveal information about energy-transport network under the Straits of Mackinac.

A Discussion With Lana Pollack, U.S. Chair of the International Joint Commission

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Lana Pollack, U.S. Chair of the IJC, talks with Circle of Blue last month in Chicago about some of the most pressing issues in the Great Lakes region.

Great Lakes Algae

Map: Not All Phosphorus Is the Same

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A breakdown of the different types of phosphorous in Ohio's Maumee and Sandusky rivers that have led to algal blooms in Lake Erie since the 1970s.

Big Toxic Algal Bloom Again in Forecast for Lake Erie

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Lake continues trend of harmful and unsightly effect of nutrient…

Cause of Lake Erie’s Harmful Algal Blooms Gains More Certainty

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New research finds that agricultural practices lead to biggest…
Toxic Algae

Joint U.S.-Canada Agency Calls for Big Phosphorus Reductions in Lake Erie

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Curbing harmful algal blooms and oxygen-deprived dead zones in…

Great Lakes Asian Carp

Australia Plans to Eliminate Invasive Carp From Murray-Darling River Basin

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Using a virus as a weapon, authorities hope to open way for native fish.

Asian Carp Would Significantly Alter – But Not Destroy – Lake Erie Fisheries

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A new study offers a clear-eyed warning about the ramifications…

Great Lakes Water Quality Remains in Spotlight in 2015

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Safe drinking water tops list of concerns. Photo © J.…

Asian Carp Swarm South of Chicago As Consensus on Permanent Solution Eludes Nation

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New legislative proposal focuses on less expensive, short-term…
Grass carp Aquatic Invasive species Asian carp Lake Erie U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Great Lakes Threat

Great Lakes States to Track Asian Carp and Prepare for Future Invasions

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Using invasive carp already present in Lake Erie, agencies practice response for more damaging species.

Study: Army Corps of Engineers Release Ways to Keep Asian Carp Out of Great Lakes

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Plans to stop the invasive fish are costly, and most take more than 10 years to complete.

Report: Fish Analysis Reveals Asian Carp Have Reproduced in Great Lakes Watershed

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A new study shows grass carp reproduced at least once in the Sandusky River, but it cannot confirm an established population.

Report: Why Asian Carp eDNA Still Matters in the Fight for the Great Lakes

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Researchers see great promise in eDNA testing to detect invasive and rare species at low abundance — including invasive Asian carp — but refining the tool is a long process.

Great Lakes Multimedia

Infographic: Plan to Change Lake Ontario Water Level Regulations Considered by Canada, U.S.

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Simulations using 20th-century climate data compare Lake Ontario…

Infographic: Lake Superior Pressured by Climate Change and Invasive Species

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Warming water temperatures and destructive, non-native species threaten the world's largest lake.

Infographic: Toxic Algae in Ohio Drinking Water Sources

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Algae toxins have been found in seven lakes, reservoirs, and rivers that supply drinking water to 1 million people.

Map: Not All Phosphorus Is the Same

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A breakdown of the different types of phosphorous in Ohio's Maumee and Sandusky rivers that have led to algal blooms in Lake Erie since the 1970s.

Great Lakes Ice Cover Most Extensive in 20 Years

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Covering about 88 percent of the lakes on February 13, the ice…

Infographic: Climate Change in the Great Lakes

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How will predicted changes to water levels and water temperatures affect the future of this region that is home to 8 million people?

Photo Slideshow: Great Lakes Pollution, Ed Wargin’s Fresh Coast Project

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The Fresh Coast Project, an ambitious 10-year, around-the-lakes journey that captures the Great Lakes on film, was created by photographer Ed Wargin to visualize the lakes and streams as one stunning, connected, living story. But Wargin captures the good with the bad, in this series of exclusive photos showing the pollution he found during his travels.

Photo Slideshow: Great Lakes Beauty, Ed Wargin’s Fresh Coast Project

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The Fresh Coast Project, an ambitious 10-year, around-the-lakes journey that captures the Great Lakes on film, was created by photographer Ed Wargin to visualize the lakes and streams as one stunning, connected, living story.
Mapping Grand Traverse Bay with the Great Lakes Water Studies Institute

Video: Mapping Grand Traverse Bay with the Great Lakes Water Studies Institute

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A narrated photo gallery of a day on the bay.

Infographic: Wild Rice is Keystone Species for Upper Great Lakes Region

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Wild Rice is an aquatic grass that is harvested annually for…

Video: WaterLife Director Kevin McMahon Tells the Story of the Great Lakes

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A cinematic survey of the state of the Great Lakes in Canada and the United States.
Video: James Olson discusses the Great Lakes Compact

Video: James Olson Discusses the Great Lakes Compact

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In an interview with Circle of Blue, James M. Olson discusses the Great Lakes Compact: an international agreement intended to protect the Great Lakes Basin.