Poll Indicates 80% Support For Great Lakes Compact

A poll commissioned by Wisconsin conservation groups, conducted by the UW Survey Center and released Monday, indicates 80% support statewide for adoption of the Great Lakes Compact.

That's good news for advocates of the Compact, and for backers of strong water conservation policy in Wisconsin and across the Great Lakes.

Details provided by the environmental group Clean Wisconsin to the Superior Daily Telegram indicate widespread bi-partisan support for a strong version of the Compact, with pro-Compact sentiment also measured both near the Great Lakes, and in communities far from the Great Lakes basin in Wisconsin, too.

Among the poll findings, as reported by the Daily Telegram:

"• 86 percent say it is important to provide further oversight and regulation before bottling and selling Great Lakes water.

"• 86 percent say it is important to prevent local communities from changing boundaries to qualify to take water from the Great Lakes.

"• 94 percent say it is important to require local communities to use water conservation programs before increasing use of Great Lakes water.

"The vast majority of those surveyed indicated they favor programs in their communities to help conserve water, and think dropping water levels in Wisconsin’s lakes, streams and groundwater is a serious problem."

The Journal Sentinel's coverage is here.

Legislation to approve the Compact has been stalled in Wisconsin since the eight-state agreement was approved by the Great Lakes states' governors in December, 2005.

A Wisconsin bill is expected to be introduced within ten days, but its specific language is apparently still being tweaked at the State Capitol, as proponents of various versions of the legislation with differing water conservation and diversion management measures are being pushed by Compact supporters or opponents.

The poll should inform legislators that Wisconsinites want a strong bill, not one shot through with loopholes and exemptions that weaken, not strengthen, the Compact's water preservation goals.

It took more than four years to negotiate the draft Compact: exceptions for the bottled water industry and diversion standards for communities outside of the Great Lakes basin remain key points of contention among Compact supporters and foes.

Wisconsin is the only state without a bill under review. Illinois and Minnesota have approved the Compact, and other states have versions under debate, or through one legislative house.