Ensuring a Clean and Sustainable Water Supply in Illinois: Successes and Challenges Ahead

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Ensuring a Clean and Sustainable Water Supply in
Illinois Successes and Challenges Ahead

• Lumpkin Family Foundation
• St. Charles
• October 21, 2005

www.greatlakes.org
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Who We Are

• Headquartered in Chicago and formed in 1970, the
  Alliance for the Great Lakes (formerly the Lake
  Michigan Federation) is the oldest independent
  citizens organization in North America.
• Our mission is to conserve and restore the
  world's largest freshwater resource using policy,
  education and local efforts, ensuring a healthy
  Great Lakes and clean water for generations of
  people and wildlife.

www.greatlakes.org
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The Basics

• The Nova Incident
• Real Water Law
• The Response Great Lakes Charter Annex

www.greatlakes.org
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Real Water Law

• Directive 3 Develop a New Decision Making
  Standard
• Comply with all applicable laws and
• Prevent or minimize Basin water loss through
  return flow and implementation of environmentally
  sound and economically feasible water
  conservation measures and
• Allow no significant adverse individual or
  cumulative impacts to the quantity or quality of
  the waters and water-dependent natural resources
  of the Great Lakes Basin and
• Result in an improvement to the waters and
  water-dependent natural resources of the Basin.
• Article 207(10)

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The Response Why This Matters

• This issue isnt remote. Its here in our
  backyards. In our communities like Green Bay and
  others. It affects real people.
• Yet its an issue that others around the world
  face every day. Water and its shortages connects
  us to the global community at large.
• It has financial implications to coastal
  communities that make money by selling Great
  Lakes water.
• And its happening now.

www.greatlakes.org
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Why This Matters

• Poll after poll shows that people are passionate
  about water. They dont view it like oil or
  timber. They understand adequate, clean water
  supplies are a matter of survival.
• While others around the world are already faced
  with massive shortages and must undertake triage
  measures to sustain their populations, we have
  the chance to get it right now.
• Great Lakes businesses are talking sustainability
  more and more. Nows their chance to walk the
  walk.

www.greatlakes.org
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Why This Matters
www.greatlakes.org
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Challenge to Media

• Dispel the myth that Great Lakes water is
  infinite.
• Traditional good-guy v. bad-guy tension isnt
  always going to exist.
• The bigger picture water security debates are
  happening now though the real impact of Great
  Lakes water shortages are evolving slowly, at a
  pace that cant necessarily be appreciated by the
  average person. Challenge is how to communicate
  this long-term threat.

www.greatlakes.org
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Challenge to Media Good Ideas That Count

• Restoration standards that ensure those who use
  our waters will help repair damaged water
  resources.
• Conservation requirements that encourage the most
  efficient use of our precious water resources.
• Strong enforcement to ensure citizens have the
  right to vigorously defend their local waters.
• No free rides for special interests and no
  loopholes that give major users unfair advantages.

www.greatlakes.org
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Challenge to Media Resources

• http//www.cglg.org/projects/water/index.asp
• Milwaukee Public Radio Interview
• www.publicbroadcasting.net/wuwm/news.newsmain?act
  ionarticleARTICLE_ID813674
• www.greatlakes.org
• www.greatlakes.org/conservation/withdrawal_intro.a
  sp

www.greatlakes.org
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• www.greatlakes.org
• /conservation/withdrawal_intro.asp
• Cameron Davis -- [phone] x2
• cdavis_at_greatlakes.org
• Cheryl Mendoza [phone]
• cmendoza_at_greatlakes.org

www.greatlakes.org