The Great Lakes Water Wars

“If you are one of the many people who care about the Great Lakes, you must read this book. Annin is undisputedly the preeminent journalist writing about the most significant freshwater resource on the planet.”

-Todd L. Ambs, Director, Healing Our Waters–Great Lakes Coalition

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Water Wars In the News

Can drastic measures lower Lake Michigan water levels?
Shoreline property owners think so
On a cold and windy afternoon in Manistee, Ron Wilson trudged through snow to check on his shuttered cottage. Not much changed since he was last there — which is good — because just a few feet of land separate the beach house from Lake Michigan.

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About the Author

Peter Annin
Director of the Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation
Peter Annin is the director of the Mary Griggs Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation and the author of The Great Lakes Water Wars, the definitive work on the Great Lakes water diversion controversy. Before coming to Northland College in 2015, Peter served as a reporter at Newsweek, the associate director of the Institute for Journalism and Natural Resources, and the managing director of the University of Notre Dame’s Environmental Change Initiative. He continues to report on the Great Lakes water diversion issue and released the second edition of The Great Lakes Water Wars in September of 2018.

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Praise for the Book

“For those who love the Great Lakes and seek to understand the politics of water, this book is a must-read. It depicts the threats to the lakes and tells the story of how local leaders and citizens came together to protect the waters from diversion and manage their use for the benefit of future generations.”
—Bob Taft, former Governor of Ohio (R); and former Co-Chair of the Council of Great Lakes Governors
“A fast-paced, engaging and important work of investigative journalism exploring the science, politics and history behind the critical effort to preserve the Great Lakes. A must-read for all who cherish the home of twenty percent of the Earth’s fresh surface water and who are committed to its protection.”
—Jim Doyle, former Governor of Wisconsin (D); and former Co-Chair of the Council of Great Lakes Governors
“Nobody knows better than Peter Annin the stakes that are in play in the decades-old fight to protect the world’s largest freshwater system from outside profiteers. And nobody tells this never-ending story better.”
—Dan Egan, award-winning author of The Death and Life of the Great Lakes