Great Lakes Areas of Concern are designated geographic areas within the Great Lakes Basin

Great Lakes Basin

The Great Lakes Basin consists of the Great Lakes and the surrounding lands of the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin in the United States, and the province of Ontario in Canada, whose direct surface runoff and watersheds form a large...

 that show severe environmental degradation

Environmental degradation

Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife...

. There are a total of 43 areas of concern within the Great Lakes

Great Lakes

The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...

, 26 being in the U.S., 17 in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, with five shared by the two countries.

The Great Lakes, the largest system of fresh water lakes in the world, are shared by the United States and Canada. They make up 95% of the surface freshwater in the contiguous United States

Contiguous United States

The contiguous United States are the 48 U.S. states on the continent of North America that are south of Canada and north of Mexico, plus the District of Columbia....

 and have 10,000 miles of coastline (including connecting channels, mainland and islands)—more than the contiguous United States' Pacific

West Coast of the United States

West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...

 and Atlantic coastlines

East Coast of the United States

The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...

 combined. The lakes are a system of transport and shipping, as well as a place of recreation. Traffic on and around the lakes is currently threatening the lakes' ecological stability

Ecological stability

Ecological stability can refer to types of stability in a continuum ranging from resilience to constancy to persistence. The precise definition depends on the ecosystem in question, the variable or variables of interest, and the overall context...

.

Description of an AOC

An Area of Concern must have at least "one beneficial use impairment which means that it has undergone a change in its chemical, physical, or biological integrity

Biological integrity

Biological integrity is associated with how “pristine” an environment is and its function relative to the potential or original state of an ecosystem before human alterations were imposed. Biological integrity is built on the assumption that a decline in the values of an ecosystem's functions are...

 of a water body." These include:

• 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

The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement

The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between the United States and Canada more specifically defines Areas of Concern as "geographic areas that fail to meet the general or specific objectives of the agreement where such failure has caused or is likely to cause impairment of beneficial use of the area's ability to support aquatic life." The U.S.-Canada Water Quality Agreement holds the committee and regulations that decide whether an area should be considered an Area of Concern. The goal of the agreement is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Great Lakes Basin

Great Lakes Basin

The Great Lakes Basin consists of the Great Lakes and the surrounding lands of the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin in the United States, and the province of Ontario in Canada, whose direct surface runoff and watersheds form a large...

 ecosystem through a concerted set of interventions that are targeted at the aforementioned Areas of Concern. Because each waterway has a unique set of characteristics that have contributed to its ecological impairment, a Remedial Action Plan has been developed to identify the causes of impairment which will be used to guide local actions that will restore the individual waterways. The goal of each Remedial Action Plan is to bring about the delisting of the waterway from the list of Areas of Concern

Other laws and policies

The United States and Canada and the states that border the Great Lakes have all created several laws, policies, and commissions to try to keep the Great Lakes healthy and un-polluted. In 1909 the Boundary Waters Treaty was put into place to control the water quality in the Boundary Waters that border both the U.S. and Canada. They created the International Joint Commission to deal with the duties of the new treaty. With the realization of the sea lamprey

Sea lamprey

The sea lamprey is a parasitic lamprey found on the Atlantic coasts of Europe and North America, in the western Mediterranean Sea, and in the Great Lakes. It is brown, gray, or black on its back and white or gray on the underside and can grow up to 90 cm long. Sea lampreys prey on a wide...

 explosion in the Great Lakes, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission was created to control the situation. In 1994 the Ecosystem Charter for the Great Lakes- St. Lawrence Basin was suggested as a good faith agreement. This was an agreement to use the ecosystem as a method of management for the Great Lakes. The Air Quality Agreement was put into place to help protect the health of not only the ecosystems of the Great Lakes but the citizens who live around them as well. It limits the amount of toxic chemicals that are given off. Another policy that was put into place in response to the toxic chemicals in the area of the Great Lakes occurred in 1997. The Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy was developed to control the persistent toxic substances that bioaccumulate such as DDT, PCBs, mercury and dioxins. These toxins stay in ecosystems for long after they are exposed and they can cause serious damage to the plant and animal life."

Invasive species

One of the major problems is the number of non-native species

Invasive species

"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....

 that are taking over the lakes. Approximately every eight months a new species enters the Great Lakes, severely disrupting the ecosystems in the area. New animals or insects coming into an ecosystem can be just as damaging as pollution, as well as, a species leaving an area.

A major food source for most fish in Lake Michigan had been Diporeia shrimp that have been drastically decreased by an infestation of zebra mussels. The Diporeia shrimp have declined from over 10,000 per square meter to virtually zero on the lake bottom because of these zebra mussels. In Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...

 the decrease in Diporeia numbers is extreme at 94% killed over the past ten years. Its neighbor, Lake Huron

Lake Huron

Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...

 is down 57% in its Diporeia population in just the past three years. There are many examples of this problem in each of the Great Lakes, as well.

Point-source pollution

Point-source pollution occurs when pollutants enter a waterway directly. This could be from such causes as waste being dumped into a waterway. In the past, lakes and other waterways were used as a place to dump waste because it was thought that water could dilute anything, whereas more recent studies have shown this to be extremely incorrect. After several hundreds of years of constant dumping, many waterways have become contaminated with toxic chemicals and human waste.

Nonpoint-source pollution

Nonpoint source pollution

Nonpoint source pollution

Nonpoint source pollution refers to both water and air pollution from diffuse sources. Nonpoint source water pollution affects a water body from sources such as polluted runoff from agricultural areas draining into a river, or wind-borne debris blowing out to sea. Nonpoint source air pollution...

 is pollution that occurs when runoff from streets, lawns, and other areas nearby a waterway carries toxins, chemicals, and silt into lakes, rivers, and oceans causing pollution and buildup of sediment. Nonpoint source pollution is said to be the most problematic and hardest to reverse of the types of pollution because it is so hard to regulate and pinpoint where it originates. Many experts agree that nonpoint source pollution is the biggest concern facing the Great Lakes. With the increase of urbanization, a toll has been taken on the lakes in these areas. Lakes that once had stable ecosystems with the appropriate amount of plant life are now full of massive amounts of plants and algae that have been fed by local lawns with their fertilizers, killing off many species of fish and other water life.

Atmospheric pollution

Atmospheric pollution is pollution that falls from the sky and comes to rest back on earth in the water table and in the lakes and oceans. This air pollution usually comes from smoke and chemicals being thrown into the air from smoke stacks and hospitals. One of the most troubling facts about atmospheric pollution is that it usually falls hundreds of miles away from its source and therefore is difficult to track and locate, but it is a major contributor to the pollution of not only the Great Lakes but all over the world. Pollution from one country can be hurting another. The most well known type of atmospheric pollution is acid rain

Acid rain

Acid rain is a rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it possesses elevated levels of hydrogen ions . It can have harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure. Acid rain is caused by emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen...

. One of the biggest contributors to acid rain is the burning of coal and fossil fuels.

List of AOCs

Lake Superior Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the... Peninsula Harbor Jackfish Bay Nipigon Nipigon Nipigon is a township in Thunder Bay District, Northwestern Ontario, Canada, located along the west side of the Nipigon River and south of the small Lake Helen running between Lake Nipigon and Lake Superior...  Bay Thunder Bay Thunder Bay (Ontario) Thunder Bay is a large bay on the north shore of Lake Superior. The bay is about 50 km long and 22 km wide. It is bordered to the east by the Sibley Peninsula at the southern tip of which is Thunder Cape, marking the entrance to the bay for ships approaching from the east... St. Louis River Deer Lake-Carp Creek River Torch Lake Torch Lake (Houghton County, Michigan) Torch Lake is approximately 2,700 acres lying mostly within Torch Lake Township and having portions within Osceola Township and Schoolcraft Township. The lake is fed by the Traprock River.... Lake Erie Lake Erie Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the... Maumee River Maumee River The Maumee River is a river in northwestern Ohio and northeastern Indiana in the United States. It is formed at Fort Wayne, Indiana by the confluence of the St. Joseph and St. Marys rivers, and meanders northeastwardly for through an agricultural region of glacial moraines before flowing into the... Black River Black River (Ohio) The Black River is a tributary of Lake Erie, about 12 mi long, in northern Ohio in the United States. Via Lake Erie, the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, it is part of the watershed of the St. Lawrence River, which flows to the Atlantic Ocean... River Raisin River Raisin The River Raisin is a river in southeastern Michigan, United States that flows through glacial sediments into Lake Erie. The area today is an agricultural and industrial center of Michigan. The river flows for almost , draining an area of in the Michigan counties of Lenawee, Monroe, Washtenaw,... Cuyahoga River Cuyahoga River The Cuyahoga River is located in Northeast Ohio in the United States. Outside of Ohio, the river is most famous for being "the river that caught fire", helping to spur the environmental movement in the late 1960s... Wheatley Harbor Wheatley, Ontario Wheatley is a community in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, within the municipality of Chatham-Kent. It lies about east of Leamington. Nearby parks include Two Creeks Conservation Area, which has 15 km of hiking and bicycling paths, Kopegaron Woods Conservation Area, Hillman Marsh Conservation... Ashtabula River Ashtabula River The Ashtabula River is a river located northeast of Cleveland in Ohio. The river flows into Lake Erie at the city of Ashtabula, Ohio. It is 40 mi in length and drains 137 mi² .-Name:... Presque Isle Bay Presque Isle Bay Presque Isle Bay is a natural bay located off the coast of Erie, Pennsylvania, United States. Its embayment is about in length, about across at its widest point, and an average depth of about . The bay is bounded on the north and west by a recurved peninsula that makes up Presque Isle State Park... Buffalo River Buffalo River (New York) The Buffalo River is a river that empties into the eastern end of Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes, by the City of Buffalo in the United States of America. This stream is called the Buffalo River only in the vicinity of the city and is known as Buffalo Creek as it flows through other parts of...

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron... Manistique River Manistique River The Manistique River is a 67-mile-long river in the U.S. state of Michigan that winds southward through the central Upper Peninsula from its headwaters near Lake Superior to its mouth in Lake Michigan. It drains approximately of the Upper Peninsula, including most of Schoolcraft County and small... Menominee River Menominee River The Menominee River is a river in northwestern Michigan and northeastern Wisconsin in the United States. It is approximately 118 mi , draining a rural forested area of northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan into Lake Michigan... Fox River Fox River (Wisconsin) The Fox River is a river in eastern and central Wisconsin in the United States. Along the banks is a chain of cities, including Oshkosh, Neenah, Menasha, Appleton, Little Chute, Kimberly, Combined Locks, and Kaukauna. Except for Oshkosh, these cities refer to themselves as the Fox Cities...  – Southern Green Bay Sheboygan River Sheboygan River The Sheboygan River is a river flowing to Lake Michigan in eastern Wisconsin in the United States. It is about long and enters the lake at the city of Sheboygan.-Course:... Milwaukee Milwaukee River The Milwaukee River is a river in the state of Wisconsin. It is about long.- Description :The river begins in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin and flows south past Grafton to downtown Milwaukee, where it empties into Lake Michigan...  Estuary Estuary An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea.... Waukegan Waukegan, Illinois Waukegan is a city and county seat of Lake County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 87,901. The 2010 population was 89,078. It is the ninth-largest city in Illinois by population...  Harbor Grand Calumet River Kalamazoo River Kalamazoo River The Kalamazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Michigan. The river is long from the junction of its North and South branches to its mouth at Lake Michigan, with a total length extending to when one includes the South Branch... Muskegon Lake Muskegon Lake Muskegon Lake is a fresh-water lake in Muskegon County, Michigan, USA. Located in the lower peninsula at the mouth of the Muskegon River, Muskegon Lake forms a broad harbor along the eastern shoreline of Lake Michigan, approximately wide by long.... White Lake White Lake (Michigan) - Muskegon County :The largest White Lake is in Muskegon County, Michigan, formed by the White River. The city of Montague, Montague Township and White River Township are on the north side of the lake. The city of Whitehall, Whitehall Township, and Fruitland Township or on the south side of the lake... Lake Huron Lake Huron Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States... Spanish Harbor Severn Sound Collingwood Harbor Collingwood, Ontario Collingwood is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it is situated on Nottawasaga Bay at the southern point of Georgian Bay.-History:... Saginaw Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw was once a thriving lumber town and manufacturing center. Saginaw and Saginaw County lie in the Flint/Tri-Cities region of Michigan...  River Saginaw River The Saginaw River is a river in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is formed by the confluence of the Tittabawassee and Shiawassee rivers southwest of Saginaw. It flows northward into the Saginaw Bay of Lake Huron just northeast of Bay City. The watershed area is .The river is an important shipping...  and Bay Saginaw Bay Saginaw Bay is a bay within Lake Huron located on the eastern side of the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms the space between Michigan's Thumb region and the rest of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Saginaw Bay is in area...

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means... Oswego River Oswego River (New York) The Oswego River is a river in upstate New York in the United States. This river is the second-largest river flowing into Lake Ontario. James Fenimore Cooper’s novel The Pathfinder, or The Inland Sea is set in the Oswego River valley... Rochester Embayment Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City... Eighteen Mile Creek Eighteen Mile Creek (Niagara County) Eighteen Mile Creek in Niagara County, New York, USA, is a tributary of Lake Ontario and is located entirely in Niagara County. The name "Eighteen Mile" creek refers not to the length of the creek, but to its distance from the Niagara River to the west.... Hamilton Harbour Metro Toronto Port Hope Harbour Port Hope, Ontario Port Hope is a municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, about east of Toronto and about west of Kingston. It is located at the mouth of the Ganaraska River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in the west end of Northumberland County... Bay of Quinte Bay of Quinte The Bay of Quinte is a long, narrow bay shaped like the letter "Z" on the northern shore of Lake Ontario in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is just west of the head of the Saint Lawrence River that drains the Great Lakes into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence... Connecting channels Saint Marys River St. Marys River (Michigan-Ontario) The St. Marys River , sometimes written as the St. Mary's River, drains Lake Superior, starting at the end of Whitefish Bay and flowing 74.5 miles southeast into Lake Huron, with a fall of .... St. Clair River St. Clair River The St. Clair River is a river in central North America which drains Lake Huron into Lake St Clair, forming part of the international boundary between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan... Clinton River Clinton River The Clinton River is a river in southeastern Michigan in the United States.The main branch of the river rises from wetlands in Springfield Township, Oakland County, northwest of Pontiac. A series of dams create a number of small lakes west of Pontiac, the last of which is Dawson's Millpond. The... Detroit River Detroit River The Detroit River is a strait in the Great Lakes system. The name comes from the French Rivière du Détroit, which translates literally as "River of the Strait". The Detroit River has served an important role in the history of Detroit and is one of the busiest waterways in the world. The river... Rouge River Niagara River Niagara River The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the Province of Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States. There are differing theories as to the origin of the name of the river... St. Lawrence River

See also

• Clean Water Act
  Clean Water Act
  The Clean Water Act is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Commonly abbreviated as the CWA, the act established the goals of eliminating releases of high amounts of toxic substances into water, eliminating additional water pollution by 1985, and ensuring that...
  
  
• Great Lakes
  Great Lakes
  The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
  
  
• Invasive species
  Invasive species
  "Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
  
  
• List of invasive species
• Water Pollution
  Water pollution
  Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies . Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds....
  
  

External links

• http://www.great-lakes.net
• http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/waterpollution.htm
• http://www.greatlakesdirectory.org/great_lakes_water_quality.htm