Ontario’s Great Lakes: Swimming Against the Current

Lake Erie: Lake Erie: A Reflection of ChangeA Reflection of Change

November 14, 20072007 A.D. Latornell Conservation SymposiumYour Watersheds, Our Great Lakes

Presenter: Jennifer Esbjerg

Lake Erie COA Coordinator, MNR

Special Thanks to: Jennifer Vincent, EC

Ted Briggs, MOEMatthew Child, ERCA

Lake Erie Lake Erie ……

• Shallowest, smallest by volume and surface area• Flows in from Detroit River, out into Niagara River• Three basins – western, central and eastern• Most productive and biologically diverse

Credit: NOAA CoastWatch Great Lakes Node

The human presence The human presence ……

• 1/3 of the Great Lakes Basin’s population • Provides drinking water for 11 million people• Greatest amount of effluent from sewage treatment plants• Intensive agricultural activity• Recreation – boating and fishing• Industry – petrochemical processing, natural gas extraction,

commercial fishing and shipping

A Lake in Flux A Lake in Flux ……In the 1970s• Over-fertilized, algae blooms, fish

declines, high mercury levels in fish

• GLWQA and COA

In the 1980s• GLWQA revised to include Areas

of Concern and LakewideManagement Plans

• Nutrient levels drop to sustainable levels

• Algae under control• Fish populations restored

UTRCA

And, Still in Flux And, Still in Flux ……Present Day

• Commercial fishing industry quotas are high

• Nutrients rising in nearshoreareas

• Algae blooms• Invasive mussels affecting

nutrient cycling• Growth of “dead zone”

Physical Integrity Physical Integrity ……

UTRCA

K. Hodgins

Shoreline Structures• Interrupt natural processes

and interactions between land and lake

• Wind power (in lake structures)

Water Levels• below average levels • Supplies are lower• Changes erosion and

sedimentation patterns

Pressures on biological integrityPressures on biological integrity

• Habitat loss & degradation• Increased sediment loads• Altered hydrology• Invasive Species• Growing “dead zone”

D. Greenwood

Resulting in …• Loss of ecological function• Further habitat degradation• Loss of biodiversity

What is being done?What is being done?

UTRCA • Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem (COA)

• Lake Erie LakewideManagement Plan

• Remedial Action Plans for Areas of Concern

COA Projects in Lake Erie BasinCOA Projects in Lake Erie Basin

• Protecting and restoring habitat

• Improving water quality• Controlling aquatic

invasive species• Monitoring and

assessment• Increasing awareness

The Lake Erie The Lake Erie LaMPLaMP

• Provides guidance for program focus and cooperation

• Ties existing efforts and addresses gaps

Addressing specific needs:• Habitat Strategy • Nutrient Management Strategy • Binational Toxics Strategy • Coordinated Monitoring Initiative

Remedial Action Plans Remedial Action Plans (for Canadian Areas of Concern)(for Canadian Areas of Concern)

Detroit River• Largest vector of

contaminants into Lake Erie

Wheatley Harbour• Targeted to complete all

actions in this AOC by 2010

St. Clair River• Agriculture and industrial

activities (including petrochemical plants)

Are we making progress?Are we making progress?

• Reduced suspended sediment

• Reduced discharge of contaminants

• Declining levels of persistent toxic chemicals

• Slower rate of habitat loss