Great waters, great Michigan.

• Author: Sak, Michael G.
• Position: Letter to the editor

Editor:

For as long as Michigan has existed, it has been defined by the Great Lakes and its many smaller lakes, streams and rivers. We are the Great Lakes State, and as Speaker Pro Tern of the Michigan House of Representatives, I along with my colleagues, are determined to keep it that way.

That's why I have drafted and co-sponsored the "Great Waters, Great Michigan" legislation that will protect the Great Lakes and Michigan water from being diverted to thirsty states and countries, and will keep it from being bottled up to be sold for profit. Our initiative bans the diversion of most water outside the Great Lakes Basin. This package closes the door on water-starved states and countries that want our water.

We will accomplish this by ratifying the Great Lakes Basin Water Resource Compact and will work with various states and Canadian provinces to ratify the compact.

But the Great Lakes are threatened not only by large-scale water withdrawals to other parts of the country. A more immediate threat comes in the form of plastic bottles that export our water one container at a time. That's why our legislation also strengthens...