How will uses of water in the Basin be managed?
The States, Ontario, and Québec will manage in-Basin withdrawals using a natural resource based standard while retaining flexibility regarding its application. The standard includes requirements that, for example, the use must not result in significant harm to the Basin’s waters or related natural resources. Each State and Province will develop a program to determine which uses must meet this standard while ensuring that, overall, uses are sustainable. After ten years of the agreements taking effect, if a State or Province has not determined its program’s scope and adopted a threshold for regulation, then all new or increased withdrawals over 100,000 gallons per day would be subject to management and regulation. State and Provincial water management programs will be reviewed every five years by the Regional Body and the Compact Council. These entities will include the Governors, Premiers or their designees. Each State and Province will have the opportunity to provide input on new or in
