- 
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cae 
aX Pop. in ey 
“ Millions # 
eo "= 
ak ZF 
1880 1880 1900-1920 1940 4960 
PO 
SUPER, OR 
i 
Millions 
6 
anil 
21840 1860 1880 19001920 1940 1960 
f 
v 
onieangel 
Np? 
4% Main Commercial Fisheries Laboratories 7 
@ Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, Department of the Interior 
a Other Agencies (U.S. and Canada) 
¢ 
mJ 
Mion 94 
2 
ree 
E1660 1880 190051920 1940 1960 
‘ 
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3 Toronto 
_Toledo bs 
1820 1840 1860 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 
on 
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Figure 48. The Great Lakes and their drainage basins, showing population increase in each 
basin. (Battelle Northwest photo) 
mental damage through implementation of preven- 
tive measures alone is debatable. The recovery 
period probably would be inordinately long and 
the forfeited benefits considerable. Thus, restora- 
tive as well as preventive measures must be 
considered to achieve resource utilization and 
environmental quality managed in the best inter- 
ests of the United States and Canada. 
A. Current Situation 
The fact that something has gone awry in Lake 
Erie is obvious. People cannot enjoy its use in the 
same ways they could 20 years ago. Southern Lake 
Michigan and parts of Lake Ontario exhibit some 
of Lake Erie’s symptoms. The common denom- 
inator limiting the multiple use of the Great Lakes 
resources is water pollution.'? Most authorities 
agree with this conclusion. 
12 Testimony of Dr. David C. Chandler, Director, Great 
Lakes Research Division, Institute of Science and Tech- 
nology, University of Michigan. 
VI-122 
The Federal Water Pollution Control Adminis- 
tration (FWPCA) Report (1966), Water Pollution 
Problems of the Great Lakes Area, identifies the 
major physical problems of the Great Lakes area 
as: 
—Over-enrichment of the Lakes. 
—Build-up of dissolved solids in the Lakes. 
—Bacterial contamination of the Lakes and tribu- 
taries. 
—Chemical contamination from industrial waste 
discharges. 
—Oxygen depletion of the Lakes and tributaries. 
Like all lakes, the Great Lakes are undergoing 
an aging process leading to extinction. Historically, 
young lakes are relatively barren of biological life; 
they are oligotrophic. As aging progresses, the 
material retained by the lake gradually increases in 
the bottom sediments; the sediments decompose, 
