What are the biggest pollutants in the Great Lakes?

Sources of pollution include:
  • runoff of soils and farm chemicals from agricultural lands.
  • waste from cities.
  • discharges from industrial areas.
  • leachate from disposal sites.
  • direct atmospheric pollutants that fall as rain, snow, or dust on the lake surface, or exchange as gases with the lake water.




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These pollutants include:
  • toxic and nutrient pollution.
  • invasive species.
  • habitat degradation.


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Lake Superior is the Cleanest and Clearest Great Lake Because of its somewhat isolated location and long cold winters, not much farming is done along Superior's shores. This means lower amounts of nutrients, sediments, and organic material are floating around the lake.

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During the 1960s, Lake Erie was declared a “dead lake” due to eutrophication and pollution. The children's book, The Lorax, written by Dr. Seuss, actually included the following line referring to fish: “They will walk on their fins and get woefully weary in search of some water that isn't so smeary.

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5 Things You Can Do To Protect The Great Lakes
  1. Watch What You Wash. One load of laundry can release more than 700,000 microscopic plastic fibers into the water system, polluting our waterways and disrupting the food chain. ...
  2. Go Fertilizer-Free. ...
  3. Ditch the Aquatic Hitchhikers. ...
  4. Dispose of Meds Properly. ...
  5. Get Political.


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Significant progress has been made in reducing toxic chemicals in the Great Lakes, but some chemicals, such as PCBs, still pose a threat to human health and the environment. polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), are higher in the waters of lakes Erie and Ontario than in other lakes.

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Lake Erie is the fourth-largest lake in North America (by surface area) and the eleventh-largest worldwide. It is the Great Lakes' southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume. By the 1960s, Lake Erie had become the most polluted of the Great Lakes, owing to the substantial industrial presence along its coasts.

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Lake Michigan The Great Lakes are all water bodies that swimmers should think twice about entering. Lake Michigan in particular is the roughest of the Great Lakes, and poses a major risk to those thinking of taking a dip. This body of water is often named the most dangerous lake in the United States.

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Lake Erie is the shallowest, warmest, and most productive of the Great Lakes. Three distinct basins provide a variety of offshore habitats. The Detroit River, Maumee River, and smaller tributaries drain into the western basin, which averages 24 feet deep and contains extremely nutrient-rich water.

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Climate Change Increasing air and water temperatures mean increased evaporation from the lakes, declining lake levels, and worsened water quality.

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