Advocacy Project: Fact Sheet

Facts About Pollution in the Great Lakes

• Pollution in the Great Lakes has long been a serious problem, from both Marine and land-based sources. 
• People have to avoid regularly eating the fish from these lakes due to their contamination, and many species have declined.  
• Pollution contributed to the failure of the commercial fishing industry in the Great Lakes.
• The contaminants also affect birds that consume seafood from the area.
• Pollutants can produce many types of health problems in humans and cause the eventual extinction of animal species.  

 Information in this fact sheet provided by MarineFuel.com and EnvironmentMichigan.org

• Each year, 24 billion gallons of sewage pollution are dumped into the Great Lakes
• Wetlands surrounding the Great Lakes are being lost at a rate of 20,000 acres per year.  With only 400,000 acres of wetlands left in the Great Lakes basin, at this rate, we will destroy all the wetlands in 20 years.
• According to the EPA, during 2009, U.S. Great Lakes beaches had 3,300 days of closings and advisories.  Water quality monitoring showed that bacteria levels exceeded health and safety standards.  In many cases, the bacteria came from city pollution and under treated sewage.
• Recreational swimmers using any of the Great Lakes are cautioned about exposure to chemical pollutants and disease-causing microorganisms from sources such as untreated and poorly treated sewage.  Those using these recreational waters have a higher incidence of gastroenteritis, skin infection, conjunctivitis, and acute febrile respiratory illness. 
• There are over 140 non-native invasive species currently in the Great Lakes, including zebra mussels, sea lamprey, and the purple loosestrife plant. 
• One particularly destructive invasive species is the Asian Carp, which is such a significant threat because the fish are large, extremely prolific, and consume massive amounts of food.  They can weigh up to 100 pounds and grow up to four feet long.  They disrupt the food chain that supports the native fish of the Great Lakes by eating their food and reproducing at such rapid rates.
• Nutrient pollution coming from mega agri-business created a dead zone in Lake Erie that has grown to larger than 10,000 square kilometers, larger than the size of Connecticut.  Dead zones are areas where excessive algae growth uses up the oxygen necessary for the survival of fish and blocks sunlight to underwater grasses, preventing their growth. 
• Despite federal regulations capping mercury discharge at 1.3 ounces per year, between 2002 and 2005, BP released a whopping 12 pounds of mercury into Lake Michigan.  Mercury gets into the tissues of fish and cannot be filtered out, making it a significant health threat to people eating fish from Lake Michigan. 
• Persistent bioaccumulative toxic chemicals in the Great Lakes Basin are still around from the mid twentieth century.  The chemicals are present in much higher concentrations in aquatic life than the water because of their cumulative effect in each step of the food chain, a process known as biomagnification.  Several states have fish consumption advisories in effect cautioning people to limit or stop completely their consumption of certain fish from the Great Lakes. 
• There are 43 areas in the Great Lakes including Wheatley Harbor, Buffalo River, Milwaukee Estuary, Thunder Bay, and Eighteen Mile Creek that have been designated “Areas of Concern” by both the Canadian and US governments.  Prominent concerns in these areas are contaminated sediment and pollution. 
• Pollution in the Great Lakes IS a problem.  Find out how you can help.