Economic Costs of Eutrophication in The Laurentian Great Lakes Basin in Canada

This data set is collected to support the project titled Lake Futures: Enhancing Adaptive Capacity and Resilience of Lakes and Their Watersheds: Work Package 4'. Lake Futures is a Pillar 3 project under the Global Water Futures Program funded by Canada First Research Excellence Fund. The main goal of this research is to identify ecosystem services that are negatively affected by water quality deterioration in the Great Lakes Basin on the Canadian side, and further quantify the monetary costs induced by the worsened water quality. We identify and categorize the direct costs into seven groups: costs on property value, recreation, tourism, water treatment, biodiversity, human health, and commercial fishing. The cost estimates inform us how much it will cost us if we do not invest in solutions to promote the recovery of the Great Lakes ecosystem. Considering that climate change and higher temperature can increase algal growth and nutrient runoff, eutrophication might become an even larger problem if actions are not taken immediately. Our research can help the society understand the gravity and urgency of the issue and take appropriate measures to restore and improve the water quality in the Great Lakes Basin and provide better services to local residents and tourists.