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The International Joint Commission is pleased to transmit its Fifth Annual Report on Great Lakes Water Quality in accordance with the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1972. In this report the Commission has not attempted to provide a summary of the 1976 Annual Reports of the Great Lakes Water Quality Board and the Great Lakes Research Advisory Board which have been transmitted to the Governments and are available to the general public. While the Commission, in general, supports the Boards' recommendations, it is now providing its own comments and recommendations on the conditions relating to Great Lakes water quality in 1976, and on progress under the Agreement to date.

The Canada/United States partnership for the Great Lakes -- Origin of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement -- Evolution of the Agreement from 1972 to 1978 -- Negotiation of the Great Lakes agreement and its evolution -- Evolution of the Great Lakes regime from 1987 to 1997 -- The continuing evolution of the Great Lakes regime from 1997 to 2005 -- Past successes and new challenges -- A vision for renewal of the Great Lakes regime -- APPENDICES: 1: Persons interviewed or consulted, or who participated in the Wingspread Conference -- 2: Recommendations from reports on the Great lakes Regime -- 3: 1972 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement -- 4: Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1978 (Revised) -- Glossary

This is the first Annual Report of the International Joint Commission pursuant to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between the United States and Canada signed on April 15, 1972. The Commission's report takes cognizance of significant developments through mid 1973, but is based for the most part on the data available in the April 1973 report of the Great Lakes Water Quality Board. The Board's report, in turn, is based on detailed information from the various state, provincial and federal jurisdictions on their water quality programs and actions and on the observed water quality at the end of 1972. The Board's report is a comprehensive, general assessment of current conditions, but does not include comparison of all specific conditions with those of prior years. Proper assessment of conditions and progress requires a definite schedule of the remedial measures necessary to achieve the objectives of the Agreement and comparison of current water quality with the specific water quality objectives agreed to. Such assessment and comparison will be possible only when the Commission's new Great Lakes Regional Office is adequately funded and staffed to support the Board's activities. As a result of extensive legislative and administrative action in both countries, much of it of recent origin, the tempo of activities to obtain satisfactory water quality in the Great Lakes has increased appreciably. All jurisdictions now have standards and programs that, if properly implemented, should result in attainment of the objectives of the Agreement but, the extent to which programs and other measures completed or in process of implementation by the target date of December 31, 1975, is not yet determinable. Meanwhile, it appears to the Commission that further degradation of the water quality of the Great Lakes may have already been slowed down in some respects, but there is not yet available any scientific basis to support a claim for improvement except in local areas or on some parameters, such as in phosphorous loadings. At this time, the Commission's conclusions and recommendations are concerned primarily with the governmental actions urgently needed to enable the Commission and the various jurisdictions in each country to carry out their responsibilities as contemplated by the Agreement. The Commission urges timely, positive action by the Governments on the problems outlined in this report to assure that the momentum thus far achieved is increased rather diminished or lost.

In 1978, the Governments of Canada and the United States entered into a revised Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. In contrast to the provisions of the 1972 Agreement which required annual reports, the International Joint Commission is charged by the 1978 Agreement with providing a full report to the Federal and State/Provincial Governments at least biennially. The first such report will be provided in late 1981, dealing with progress during the first two years of the 1978 Agreement. The revised Agreement also provides for summary reports in the alternate years and special reports at any time. This interim report is based largely on reports submitted by the Great Lakes Water Quality Board and Great Lakes Science Advisory Board at the Eighth Annual Great Lakes Water Quality Meeting at Toronto in November, 1980. In this report, the Commission does not attempt to repeat or review all aspects of the Boards' reports. These reports have been made available to Governments and the public. Except as noted herein, the Commission generally supports the concerns and recommendations expressed in the two main Board reports and at the Annual Meeting. The Commission commends these reports and the transcripts of the Meeting to the Parties and to the State and Provincial Governments for their careful consideration. Many of the recommendations expressed in the Board reports are consistent with Commission recommendations contained in the Seventh Annual Report so that, for this reason too, their repetition is not required here. This report provides the additional comments of the Commission on seven issues of concern. A number of these issues are planned to be the subjects of special reports during the next year. The Commission believes, however, that it is important for it or the Governments as specified herein, to take certain early actions on these matters to fulfil their responsibilities under the 1978 Agreement. The seven issues are: I. Great Lakes International Surveillance Plan and Other Data Requirements II. Atmospheric Pollution of the Great Lakes III. The Niagara River IV. A List of 33 Chemicals for Possible Immediate Control V. Non-NTA Phosphate Substitutes in Detergents VI. Waste Disposal Sites VII. Phosphorus

It is now more than three years since the Governments of Canada and the United States signed the 1972 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and thereby agreed to develop and implement programs and other measures deemed necessary to restore and enhance the water quality in the Great Lakes System. The International Joint Commission was directed to assist the Governments in implementing the Agreement and was assigned certain powers, responsibilities, and functions. This, then, is the third annual report by the Commission concerning the progress toward meeting the goals of the Agreement. It covers the calendar year 1974, takes account of developments of the early months of 1975, and draws upon a much more substantial and sophisticated technical base than the previous two reports. The committee system of the Great Lakes Water Quality Board and Research Advisory Board - the Commission's principal advisers - has matured. In the process, the members have developed a clearer sense of direction with respect to the specific programs necessary and a greater sensitivity to the totality of efforts being made to clean up the Great Lakes.

This is the second Annual Report of the International Joint Commission concerning progress toward the achievement of the water quality objectives which the Governments of the United States and Canada adopted in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. That Agreement was signed April 15, 1972, on behalf of their respective Governments by the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Canada. The Commission's first report to the Parties and to the State and Provincial Governments was based primarily on 1972 conditions, but also reflected significant developments through mid 1973. The present report similarly covers progress during 1973 and takes cognizance of developments in the early months of 1974.

With the 1987 amendments to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, responsibility for reporting on the condition of the lakes and remedial programs shifted to governments, which developed bilateral mechanisms such as the State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference (SOLEC). Also, governments have been seeking to identify the core needs of their data collection and other programs. The Commission's advisory bodies have, in the meantime, tended to focus more on analysis and policy issues, and have expressed a need for revised guidance on the Commission's desired data activities. In response to these changes in the way that functions are organized and carried out, the Commission identified, as a priority activity, the consideration of its data and information needs, and the identification of indicators to evaluate Agreement progress. Consequently, it established an Indicators for Evaluation Task Force in 1993 to assist in reviewing these requirements and to develop a framework within which to conduct its evaluation and develop advice. The Commission, in particular, suggested a focus on state-of-the-lake reporting and consideration of integrative indicators of ecosystem integrity.

Wuhan City is located in the central part of China, which is an import foothold of the transportation, manufacturing industry, commerce and education in China. Chinese government appointed Wuhan City as a national pilot reform area of resource-saving and environmentally friendly society at the end of 2007. There is a great deal of fresh water resources in Wuhan City, and Wuhan City is known as 'the city with 100 lakes'. However, about 60% of the lake water resources have became seriously polluted in Wuhan City. The most important reason for water degradation of Wuhan City is the imbalance between rapid economic development and the environment load capacity. In this study, we raised synthetic policies to reduce amount of lake water pollutants and realize the harmonious development between regional economy and water environment. In this paper, we focused on three contamination materials (COD, T-N and T-P) and constructed a model from environmental load, socio-economy and water quality improvement policies. We performed optimization simulation based on linear programming to maximize gross regional production (GRP) and reduce environmental load, and finally we suggested proper policies to improve water quality in this area.

This is a defining moment for the Great Lakes St Lawrence region, with the opportunity to renovate the regime for ecosystem improvement, protection and sustainability. The binational Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement was first signed in 1972. The outcome of a 2007 review of the Agreement by government and citizens, resulted in a broad call for and revisions to the Agreement, so that it can once again serve as a visionary document driving binational cooperation to address long-standing, new and emerging Great Lakes environmental issues in the 21st century. A prescription for renegotiating the Agreement to generate a revitalized and sustainable future mandates that science inform contemporary public policy, third Party Mediation presses for and coordinates a deliberate negotiation, and inclusive discourse and public engagement be integral through the process.