GLIN==> 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
are available at www.glu.org.

 

Contacts:

John Jackson

Director of Clean Production and Toxics

Great Lakes United

519-744-7503

jjackson at glu.org

 

 

____________________________________

Brent Gibson

Director, Communications

Great Lakes United

(613) 867-9861

 <mailto:bgibson at glu.org> bgibson at glu.org |  <http://www.glu.org/>
www.glu.org

 

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