With its myriad lakes, excess rainfall and plentiful beer, the state of Wisconsin often takes the availability of water for granted. Other parts of the country — from California to Georgia — do not have that luxury, and in times of water shortages they will undoubtedly be lustily turning their parched throats in the direction of the Great Lakes. Fortunately, dreams of draining the Great Lakes to build more golf courses in the desert will merely be a mirage now that the House voted to approve the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact last week.

In a political system that favors reelection coffers over the future of our nation, the actions of Gov. Jim Doyle, our senators and others from across the eight Great Lakes states deserve some well-deserved props for having the foresight to protect the future of the Great Lakes by passing the compact. The Great Lakes Compact may seem like minor news, but with massive regions here in the U.S. facing water scarcity issues, water diversions from the Great Lakes are going to be contentious topics in the near future.

Author Peter Annin wrote, “If the twentieth century was the age of oil, then the twenty-first century will be the age of water,” which is basically another way of saying that because water is necessary for important things such as waterskiing — and living — conflicts over water will become increasingly more common and more hostile. In fact, perhaps one day we will see protesters chanting “no blood for water.”

In the United States water scarcity is already starting to become an explosive issue in regions that neglected planning in lieu of unfettered exploitation of water resources. The West has been draining the Ogallala aquifer and running its rivers dry in support of inefficient irrigation practices and booming residential growth, and during the recent drought that nearly brought Atlanta to its knees, the Southeast learned a small river basin can only provide so much water for a sprawling metropolis.

As these regions experience massive population growth and dwindling water supplies, water resource planners have set their sights outside river basins for future water supplies. One look at the map of the United States makes it no secret that water-starved planners are eying the Great Lakes like CC Sabathia looking at a post-game buffet spread. And this is not too shocking, especially since they hold nearly 20 percent of all surface freshwater on Earth.

The Great Lakes Compact, however, is an affirmation that the value of the lakes to this region is worth infinitely more than more suburban growth somewhere else.

As Doyle said upon the recent passage of the compact, “These are waters that define us.” These “HOMES” we learned about in grade school are the economic, ecological and emotional backbone of the entire region. If the lakes were taken away, the region would lose its heart, soul and cheesy second-grade acronym.

With the compact guaranteeing the Great Lakes will retain their watery greatness, the second phase of protecting the Great Lakes is now upon us. After years of dumping poison into the lakes and allowing invasive species to “mussel” their way into the ecosystem, friends of the lakes can now invest their energy into restoring the Great Lakes basin to the vibrant ecosystem it once was.

Though it is no $700 billion, Congress recently authorized $54 million over the next two years as part of the Great Lakes Legacy Act to help continue clean-up efforts.

Cynics may say you cannot just throw money at the problem, but budgets are documents that at the very least show where a government’s priorities lie. Also, in Wisconsin, the state will be instituting a new program designed to foster a spirit of conservation and efficiency that will hopefully allow all citizens and businesses in the Great Lakes Basin to participate in the preservation of the lakes. These may be small measures at this point, but they are certainly a place to start.

Although the news has been less than stellar lately, the passage of the Great Lakes Compact serves as a small taste of hope for us Midwesterners. When I reminisce about the “L” flag at Wrigley Field fluttering in the breeze off Lake Michigan after a Cubs’ loss, it is comforting to know our elected officials were willing to act now to preserve such fond memories for future Great Lakes region residents, instead of waiting for a crisis in which the waters of the lakes we love are being diverted to all points south, east and west.

Zachary Schuster ([email protected]) is a graduate student studying water resources engineering.