It's a sure sign that winter's nearly over: Debate begins anew on the value of the volume of water in the Great Lakes. Think of Great Lakes as a giant liquid bank account -- an ice-age-old savings plan, but with only a 1 percent interest rate each year. And most of that is already being mostly used up by us for our own use (and some would argue misuse).

Study says Great Lakes don’t have enough water to satisfy growing North American thirst

February 24, 2009

It’s a sure sign that winter’s nearly over: Debate begins anew on the value of the volume of water in the Great Lakes.

Think of Great Lakes as a giant liquid bank account — an ice-age-old savings plan, but with only a 1 percent interest rate each year. And most of that is already being mostly used up by us for our own use (and some would argue misuse).

Then, imagine climate change continuing to dip deeper into that water volume savings (by evaporation) and realize that even 6 quadrillion gallons of water in five vast lakes shouldn’t be touched to slake the thirst of the American Southwest if drought persists.

That’s the opinion of a trio of water resources researchers, including an aquatic ecologist from Miami University (Ohio), in an article “Sentinels of Change,” published in this month’s Science magazine. The full study is available online and in print only by subscription.

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