U.S. and Canadian leaders are getting together in Chicago tomorrow to talk about water.
There’s a pact between the two countries. It’s called the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. It takes on all sorts of threats to water in our region, from toxic chemicals to runoff from farms and sewer overflows from cities.
Lyman Welch is with the Alliance for the Great Lakes. He says when the agreement was first signed 40 years ago, it was promising.
“However, over the years, we have found the agreement has become somewhat more ineffective as new challenges have arisen,” he says.
He says the challenges include climate change and prescription drugs getting into drinking water.
The two countries updated the agreement last fall. Tomorrow, leaders will try to figure out how to implement it. Both countries pledged to do more to tackle invasive species, adapt to climate change and clean up polluted areas.
