TORONTO - Parched U.S. states could start "water wars" in the years ahead and fight for access to Great Lakes resources as they become more desperate to meet growing needs, Canadian and American experts said Wednesday at a water conference.
Southwestern U.S. states are already concerned about dwindling water resources, and the impacts of climate change are exacerbating their problems, said Environment Canada's Linda Mortsch, who worked on the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports.
Water issues that are currently emerging will develop into bitter conflicts in the not too distant future when those dry states become increasingly desperate, said Milton Clark, a senior health and science adviser for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
"We will in fact get into major water wars," Clark said. "You will see water wars coming in every way, shape or form.
"In the U.S. there are some leading politicians who have said the Great Lakes do in fact belong (to everyone) and all water should be nationalized - and this certainly is a concern."
Earlier this month, Ohio Lt.-Gov. Lee Fisher made headlines when he told an economic development summit that the Great Lakes region may be less than a decade away from selling water to other U.S. states in need.
"I think it's fair to say that we're going to see in the next decade states and other countries looking for ways to get access to our fresh water supply, and we're going to have to make some tough decisions about whether we want that to happen and, if so, how," Fisher said.
His comments alarmed residents throughout the Great Lakes region, and Fisher later clarified his remarks and said he misspoke.
"I should have been more careful in my comments about diversion because I should not have left even a crack in the door for diversion in the future," he said.
But whether Fisher believes in selling Great Lakes water or not, many Americans think it's inevitable, Mortsch said.
She recalled a conversation with an Arizona man who believed Great Lakes provinces and states should share their water.
"Not to be fear-mongering, but (that's) their perception of the relative abundance of the Great Lakes," she said.
"They're not living within their water budget and they look to the Great Lakes (as a solution)."
Ontario and Quebec have already signed an agreement that would ban bulk transfers of Great Lakes water to other jurisdictions, and they are now waiting for the eight Great Lakes states and U.S. Congress to finalize a similar deal.
Minnesota, New York, Indiana and Illinois have already signed on, but Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania have yet to do so. The international agreement will not go forward unless all jurisdictions accept the terms.
Fisher's comments raised concerns that Ohio might not approve the deal, although he subsequently said the state does support it.
Wisconsin is on the verge of ratifying the agreement and may do so next week.
