The Great Lakes Commission is well suited to develop tools and support strategies to revitalize waterfront communities and strengthen the “Blue Economy” through research, policy development, information exchange and technology transfer, and stakeholder collaboration. The GLC supports programs, such as the Coastal Zone Management Program as implemented by the states, that facilitate healthy and sustainable coastal development, and advocates for policies and legislation that strengthen state leadership; promote the exchange of best practices; emphasize sustainability and resiliency to impacts from climate change; and balance multiple benefits such as recreation, fish and wildlife, commercial navigation, and water-dependent industries.

Waterfront areas in the Great Lakes historically have been centers of economic activity for coastal communities, supporting industries with fresh water, energy, and access to waterborne networks for shipping raw materials and finished goods. The industrial era left a legacy of contamination and habitat degradation in many shoreline areas and the decline in heavy industry in the Great Lakes region has left many waterfronts vacant or underutilized.

Many coastal communities are working to clean up and reclaim waterfront areas and align them with new plans for economic development, public access, recreation, habitat restoration and other uses, along with continued support for commercial navigation. Progress in cleaning up and restoring degraded shorelines has accelerated significantly in recent years with support from the Great Lakes Legacy Act, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) and other state, provincial and federal programs, particularly in Areas of Concern designated under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.

Multiple state, provincial and federal programs support healthy and sustainable coastal development, including the GLRI, Coastal Zone Management Act, National Sea Grant College Program, and brownfields redevelopment programs. Some recent proposals have focused on promoting economic clusters, particularly those that depend on fresh water, and assisting communities in developing waterfront areas, balancing multiple uses, and strengthening resiliency to impacts from climate change.

The Great Lakes Commission’s work supports waterfront community revitalization by improving water quality, restoring degraded shorelines, enhancing valuable fish and wildlife resources, repairing water infrastructure, promoting commercial navigation, and facilitating collaboration and information exchange among policymakers and local leaders. The GLC will continue to identify and support opportunities to strengthen federal and state policies, programs and funding; facilitate state leadership; promote the exchange of best practices; emphasize sustainability and resiliency to impacts from climate change; and balance multiple benefits such as recreation, fish and wildlife, commercial navigation, and water-dependent industries.

Tracking progress toward a healthier Lake Erie

Lake Erie has a significant social and economic impact on the surrounding region. Currently, harmful algal blooms (HABs) and seasonal hypoxia, which are thought to be the result of excessive phosphorus (P) loading, threaten the water quality and biodiversity of the lake. Recognizing the substantial threat HABs and hypoxia present to the surrounding region, governors and premieres agreed to reduce P loading by 40% (from 2008 loads) by 2025 in the 2015 Collaborative agreement. In the same year, the Great Lakes Commission’s own Lake Erie Nutrient Targets report established similar goals and a set of 10 steps to achieve the targets. Both of those efforts gained further support when the governments of Canada and the United States formally adopted a 40% reduction goal in February 2016 through Annex 4 of the 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between the two nations.

ErieStat is a web-based platform for tracking progress toward the goal of a 40% reduction in phosphorus loads to the western and central basins of Lake Erie. ErieStat provides valuable services to the states of Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York and the province of Ontario as these governments work to implement policies and programs to achieve the binational phosphorus reduction goal.

Reducing P loading is expected to substantially decrease the intensity and frequency of HABs while also reducing the areal extent of the hypoxic zone within the central basin, therefore improving water quality for surrounding communities that depend on Lake Erie for safe drinking water and the Lake’s ecosystem as a whole.

ErieStat was led by a team from the Great Lakes Commission. Guidance for ErieStat came from our Steering Committee and Content Advisory Group, which include members from state, provincial, and federal government; academic research institutions; nonprofit organizations; and other experts in the region.

Reducing Phosphorus into Lake Erie

Excess phosphorus entering Lake Erie contributes to the formation of harmful algal blooms and dead zones, and can be dangerous for fish, wildlife and people.

In June 2015, the Governors of Michigan and Ohio and Premier of Ontario signed a Collaborative Agreement to work together toward a 40% reduction in the amount of total and dissolved reactive phosphorus entering Lake Erie’s Western Basin by the year 2025, with an interim goal of a 20% reduction by 2020. In the same year, the Great Lakes Commission’s own Lake Erie Nutrient Targets report established similar goals and a set of 10 steps to achieve the targets. Both of those efforts gained further support when the governments of Canada and the United States formally adopted a 40% reduction goal for phosphorus in the western and central basins in February 2016 through Annex 4 of the 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between the two nations. The Commission is working closely with Annex 4 in developing ErieStat.