GREAT LAKES UNITED PRESS RELEASE: COALITION OPPOSES GENESEE COUNTY WATER WITHDRAWAL

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Release
July 15, 2009
Coalition Opposes Genesee County Water Withdrawal
Proposal fails Great Lakes Compact and Promotes Wasteful Water Practices

(BUFFALO, NY & TORONTO, ON) – In comments submitted today to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Great Lakes United expressed their opposition to a water withdrawal permit application by Genesee County. The letter, co-signed by the Canadian Environmental Law Association and Ohio Environmental Council, cites the proposal’s failure to meet conservation and efficiency provisions of the Great Lakes Compact – while increasing withdrawal and consumptive use – as wasteful and an unnecessary overuse of water.

“Genesee county’s proposal is completely out of step with the intent of Great Lakes Compact and must not be approved,” said John Jackson of Great Lakes United. “When the proposal asks for a withdrawal greater than demand, they promote the myth that the Great Lakes are an endless well. Instead of finding ways to use water more wisely, they simply want a bigger straw.”

The comments cite four key reasons to oppose the permit:

* The proposal would increase water withdrawal and consumptive use from Lake Huron;
* The proposal would fail to correct problems with the current water system;
* The proposal would dramatically increase water withdrawal and consumption by the Genesee County system and its users; and,
* The proposal does not provide a water conservation and efficiency plan.

Genesee County is currently supplied by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, which already has an intake on Lake Huron. However, the Detroit system is drastically inefficient, leaking 20 per cent of its water before it reaches a customer. Instead of fixing this problem, Genesee County is simply closing its eyes while it exacerbates the strains already facing the Great Lakes.

“The Great Lakes Compact has essentially shut the door to the out-of-basin diversions, but as this proposal demonstrates, the greatest threat to these waters continues to be our own wasteful attitude and blind complacency” said Jackson.

Per capita, the Great Lakes region uses more water than anyone else in the world, except for the United States as a whole. With significant restoration funding proposed by the Obama administration, a serious attitude toward quelling our water use can boost these efforts.

“Conservation is about more than just using less water. When we reduce our demands on this ecosystem, we relieve the stress on overburdened wastewater infrastructure, use less energy, and produce fewer greenhouse gases,” said Jackson. “Water conservation is the foundation to any long-term effort to protect the Great Lakes. Genesee County must abandon this pipeline proposal and lead the way through conservation and responsible water use.”

For more information:
The comments submitted to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality can be found here.

Contacts:
John Jackson
Director of Clean Production and Toxics
Great Lakes United
519-744-7503
jjackson@glu.org