The Great Lakes are one of the most important freshwater systems on Earth, contain 84 percent of North America’s surface freshwater and 21 percent of the world's supply. More than 30 million people rely on the Great Lakes for drinking water, and the Great Lakes region’s GDP is USD $5.8 trillion, or roughly 28 percent of combined U.S. and Canadian economic activity. Degrading water quality, increasing frequency of toxic algal blooms, invasive species, climate change and record flooding have been increasingly threatening the Great Lakes. Increasing population growth and industrialization will add further pressure to these critical systems.
In this webinar, speakers from Dana Investment Water Advisors, the Great Lakes Commission, and the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District discuss the economic and investor risks and opportunities in the Great Lakes region. The speakers will offer an overview of the Blue Accounting initiative created to effectively measure efforts to protect the Great Lakes and how investors can interpret this data and a case study of how the City of Milwaukee is proactively investing in solutions. The webinar provides insight into how water can be translated into a material risk in high stress regions and identifies areas of progress and need for improvement and investment in regional water management.