Advocacy Project: Issue Overview

Currently there is the Federal Water Pollution Act (also know as the Clean Water Act, bill number 33) which does set requirements for water treatment but it has not covered all the bases. The Great Lakes Water Protection Act takes it one step further and demands that publicly owned treatment works don't intentionally bypass any streams that need water treatment before they flow into the Great Lakes. The water treatment centers may not want the extra work that comes along with treating additional streams, but with the passing of this bill all streams would be accounted for .

Because we live in the Great Lakes region we are the ones who are most affected by this. Most of our drinking water comes from the Great Lakes. It already is at risk of pollution because of how accessible it is, but why would we want to allow water treatment centers to skip over streams that need cleaning. If we ignore this problem we will not have safe drinking water unless we spend much more money on the treatment of the water once it is already in the lake. If this bill is not passed the water treatment centers will benefit from not having to spend the additional money on treatment.

Others in surrounding areas are also affected by this because many people use the Great Lakes for drinking water!

The money that we spend in taxes go towards the community budget which is in control of the treatment of water. Purdue University explains that when you receive your water bill, if the company gives water to more than 10,000 people, there will be a report of the water quality included. This is helpful because many of us so blindly take things as good without question if it comes from the government. The report also tells where the water comes from!
If the companies were to not treat all the water that goes into our lakes, they would be able to save time and money. They would surely benefit from this but it would harm all of us that drink and enjoy the water of the Great Lakes.

Cities that are located on the Great Lakes benefit greatly from the location. Duluth, Chicago, Detroit and Milwaukee all pride themselves on being located on the lake. They are often used for recreation like swimming, fishing, and boating. If the streams were not treated correctly, all of these social benefits would not be enjoyable.

The biggest barrier to passing this act is money. The city may have to raise taxes in order for the treatment centers to have enough money to treat the streams that they may have been avoiding previously. It is hard to come up with money when so many people are in debt. It may be possible however that there would be less money needed to treat the water after it had been in the lake so some of the budget could be shifted around.

Community members will need to play a large part in getting this bill passed. It is important to educate others on where our drinking water comes from and the large effects it has on our health. It is also important to write to our representatives so that they know how we feel about the issue and that it is important to us.

I think that people that are for water quality will want to support this cause. Also, women with young children will see the safety issues with their children drinking poor quality water.

I would try to find a way to keep taxes the same but have enough funding to ensure that all streams that flow into the Great Lakes have been properly treated. This will hopefully come from money that is already in the budget for water quality, but it will be done in a more efficient way.

I want policy makers to vote Yes on this bill. I want to be able to know that what I am drinking is safe water, and will continue to be safe for years to come!