What influence has the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement had on the Great Lakes?
The International Joint Commission was given the responsibility by both Canada and the United States for monitoring the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. As a result of this responsibility, the IJC has been an important catalyst prodding the government to improve water quality in the Great Lakes. For thirty years the IJC has called both Canada and the United States to account for their mutually agreed upon obligations under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. The IJC has also inspired the scientific research on the lakes which is the foundation for all the agreements and disseminated this information to the broader public. However, the IJC’s effectiveness has been hampered by the lack of legal authority to enforce the provisions of the agreement. The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement was first signed by the two countries in 1972. The eutrophication of Lake Erie influenced the focus of the first agreement – to control oxygen depletion of the lakes due to nutrient loadings. Thi
