Human Health: About the Great Lakes LaMP Study...

Drinking water
Recreational water
Fish consumption
Lake by lake
Other issues
Resources and references

About the Great Lakes LaMPs study...
Glossary of terms
Site Map

What is a LaMP?
LaMPs is an acronym for Lakewide Management Plans. The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between the United States and Canada calls for the creation of a LaMP for each of the Great Lakes so that federal and state agencies can set agendas and priorities for fighting environmental problems in each of the lakes. The success of the LaMP for each Great Lake depends on the participation of government agencies and members of the public working together to reach the goals set out in the LaMP.

The historic water quality agreement committed both countries "to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the waters of the Great Lakes basin ecosystem." To meet this commitment, the two governments agreed to develop and implement LaMPs for open lake waters and Remedial Action Plans (RAPs) for specific geographic Areas of Concern (AOCs). The LaMPs represent an ecosystem approach to protecting the Great Lakes.

What are LaMPs used for?
LaMPs are intended to identify critical pollutants that affect beneficial uses of the lakes and to present strategies, recommendations and policy options to restore those beneficial uses. Each LaMP includes information about human health concerns, which has been used extensively in the construction of this website.

The LaMPs for lakes Erie, Michigan, Ontario and Superior have been developed with guidance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Environment Canada (EC). Through an iterative approach, these documents will be updated and re-released every two years to incorporate new data and public input. The next update to the LaMPs will be in the year 2002.

How do LaMPs affect human health in the Great Lakes?
Each LaMP contains water quality information directly related to drinking water, fish consumption, recreational use of water, as well as other issues like contaminated sediments, and persistent organic pollutants (POPs). The LaMP participants have created an action plan and progress report on human health indicators for each of the lakes. Each subsequent update to the original LaMP documents tracks the efforts and advances made by participating entities throughout the region and also includes sections on new information, public comments, and feedback.

"The World Health Organization defines human health as a "state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." Therefore, when assessing human health, all aspects of well-being need to be considered, including physical, social, emotional, spiritual and environmental impacts on health. Human health is influenced by a range of factors, such as the physical environment (including environmental contaminants), heredity, lifestyle (smoking, drinking, diet and exercise), occupation, the social and economic environment the person lives in, or combinations of these factors. Exposure to environmental contaminants is one among many factors that contribute to the state of our health."
-- Lake Erie LaMP 2000

The Lakewide Management Plans (LaMPs)

Lake Huron Initiative
Proposed indicators | Lake Huron Update 2000/2001
Nonindigenous Species Action Plan
Lake Huron Ongoing Efforts Part I & Part II

Lake Michigan LaMP
Introduction | Planning | Lake Michigan Forum
Mass balance | Action agenda

Lake Ontario LaMP
Executive Summary | Public Involvement | Publications
Technical Reports

Human Health and the Great Lakes design and maintenance provided by
the Great Lakes Commission

Photos: Great Lakes National Program Office of the U.S. EPA
All PDFs are viewable with Adobe Acrobat Reader

Site Map | Send us your comments!