The states and provinces that make up the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Council and Regional Body could improve public and Indigenous engagement, and develop best practices for data centers, according to a recently issued IJC report.
In December, the IJC issued its decadal Protection of the Waters of the Great Lakes: 2025 Report on Water Diversions and Uses (PWGL). This is the latest in a series of reports dating back to 1999, when the IJC received a Reference from Canada and the United States to examine water management and conservation measures in the Great Lakes. Follow-up reports were issued in 2004, and in 2015.
Over the past two decades, through a parallel process, the Great Lakes states and provinces strengthened water management through the 2005 Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement and the states-only 2008 Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact. Overseen by the aforementioned Regional Body and Council, these arrangements restrict water diversions and set conservation goals. Following their inception, the IJC’s PWGL reports in 2015 and 2025 reviewed these efforts and offered recommendations to improve their effectiveness.
Released in December 2025, the latest report noted that the recommendations made in 2015 had seen some progress and updated and replaced them accordingly. With that in mind, the 2025 report includes 15 recommendations for state and provincial officials and agencies to consider.
Several of these recommendations relate to how the Great Lakes states and provinces work with outside entities and people, notably Indigenous Nations. Given their distinctive status as rights holders, the IJC recommends identifying and pursuing options to better involve these First Nations and Tribes in the meetings of the regional body. Related recommendations include developing an education plan for interested parties, and holding public engagement opportunities to define agreement terms, such as “reasonable water supply alternative” and “humanitarian exemption.”
Other recommendations deal with scientific data, such as supporting advances into researching hydrologic conditions on the Great Lakes, establishing a uniform approach to reporting how water is consumed, and developing a plan around research, monitoring and managing groundwater.
Finally, recognizing the continued expansion of large-scale data centers in the basin, the report encourages states and provinces to remain attentive to this evolving sector and explore coordinated approaches to sustainable water use. It also suggests developing a shared understanding of current and future development and how it may relate to the Great Lakes and connected water resources.
The report follows public outreach and engagement efforts in 2025, with more than 100 participants in a public webinar and a public comment period. A final webinar took place in January 2026 to announce the release of the report and can be viewed here.
Kevin Bunch is a writer-communications specialist at the IJC’s US Section office in Washington, D.C. and serves as the executive editor for the Shared Waters newsletter.
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