| Archived Press Release
- August 19, 1999 |
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The Steelhead Society Calls
for Stronger Action to Prevent Bulk Water Exports
August 19, 1999
Vancouver, BC - As the International
Joint Commission released their interim report, "Protection
of the Waters of the Great Lakes" yesterday, the
Steelhead Society called for stringer regulations to
prevent the bulk export of water. "The recommendations
in today's interim report do not go far enough to ensure
the preservation of the Canadian freshwater habitat,"
stated Society President Daniel Burns.
In the report, which examines the effects
of large-scale diversion and removal of water from the
Great Lakes, the committee recommended that Canada and
the United States impose nation-wide moratoriums on
Bulk Water Exports. Citing potential environmental and
ecological effects resulting from the bulk export of
water from the Great Lakes, the Committee recommends
that both nations enact moratoriums until its investigations
are complete.
The report urges the two nations to
closely regulate consumptive uses of water from the
Great Lakes in accordance with existing laws in both
countries and the Great Lakes Charter. Additionally,
the Committee recommends actions to improve the development
of information needed about current and future consumptive
uses and to expand knowledge concerning groundwater
in the Great Lakes region.
"It is encouraging to see that
the Committee, an organization that represents the interests
of both Canada and the United States, recognizes that
the bulk removal of water constitutes a threat to the
integrity of the ecosystem of the Great Lakes basin,"
stated Burns. "However, the recommendations in
the report for a temporary moratorium are not strong
enough, given the vast uncertainty surrounding the effects
of such removals."
The Steelhead Society believes that
only a immediate, outright ban on the bulk removal of
water from the Great Lakes and all other Canadian watersheds
by the Federal Government will ensure that water does
not become a commodity. Rather, the Society wishes to
see water recognized as a vulnerable and integral part
of the environment. Federal laws banning bulk water
export, coupled with other conservation measures, are
the only way to ensure, and to protect North America's
most important resource for future generations.
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