An advisory agency says the U-S and Canada still have a long way to go in improving the condition of the Great Lakes.
The International Joint Commission's first checkup report, since both nations updated the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 2012, says there have been some recent improvements but still some problems.
It found the pollution in the Great Lakes endangers human health and the environment.
Speaking on AM800's the Afternoon News, IJC Public Information Officer Sally Cole-Misch says sewage is still getting into the Great Lakes.
"You would think after having waste water treatment plants for over 100 years, that we would know how to not have this happen," she says.
"One of the major issues is with increased climate change and the more extreme storm events that we are having, a lot of times these treatment plants can't handle the rush of water and you have the combined sewer overflows."
She says infrastructure in both countries is in drastic need of upgrading to separate storm systems from sewer systems which requires a lot of time, money and effort.
The report says inadequately treated sewage, industrial chemicals and farm runoff are still flowing into the five lakes that provide drinking water for about 40-million people.
She points out that the state of Michigan has formally declared Lake Erie as "impaired" but Ohio has not followed suit.