BURLINGTON - The Ontario government is investing $7.47 million to improve the health of the Great Lakes. The funding will support projects that address environmental challenges such as increased levels of pollutants, excess nutrients and rising levels of invasive species. Protecting the Great Lakes is a key commitment in the province's Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan to ensure water resources and ecosystems are safeguarded for future generations. View the full list of projects receiving Great Lakes funding. "The Great Lakes are an important part of our province's economic prosperity and the well-being of our communities," said Jeff Yurek, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. "Our government is committed to working with our partners and investing in on-the-ground projects that will help protect and restore our water resources and improve the health of the Great Lakes so they are safe and beautiful for everyone to enjoy." Approximately $5.8 million is being provided to 65 Great Lakes projects run by communities, organizations, universities and Indigenous peoples across the province to address issues critical to the health of the Great Lakes. Some of these projects include:
The Brighton Beach Bioswale Project to design and implement bioswale installations in areas that directly discharge into Hamilton Harbour from Brighton Beach
Monitoring and assessment to provide background information to establish nutrient and water quality related targets needed for the Cootes Paradise and Grindstone Creek Marsh areas within the Hamilton Harbour Area of Concern.
Administrative and coordination support for the Hamilton Harbour Remedial Action Plan.
Monitoring water quality to see if low-impact development and agricultural best practices used by greenhouses in the Leamington-Kingsville area are reducing excess nutrients from entering Lake Erie.
The province is also investing $1.67 million in the Great Lakes Local Action Fund for local projects led by community-based organizations, small businesses, municipalities, conservation authorities and Indigenous communities to protect and restore coastal, shoreline and nearshore areas of the Great Lakes and the rivers and streams that flow into them.
Quick Facts
Applications for the Great Lakes Local Action Fund open in September 2020 through Transfer Payment Ontario
20 per cent of the world’s fresh water is found in the Great Lakes, making it the largest lake system in the world.
The Great Lakes Basin is home to over 4,000 species of plants, fish and wildlife.
95 per cent of the province’s agricultural lands are in the basin of the Great Lakes.
Last summer, the Governments of Ontario and Canada released a draft of a new Canada-Ontario Agreement on Great Lakes Water Quality and Ecosystem Health to coordinate actions to protect Great Lakes water quality.
Comments