Great Lakes water accord input sought

Northwest Ohio residents will have two chances to offer input today on the draft agreements that would prevent diversions of water out of the Great Lakes.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Council of Great Lakes Governors are hosting the public meetings, which are among a series of meetings across the region to get feedback on the draft agreements.

The agreements are thought to be a step forward in enforceable water resource laws that would protect the Great Lakes by keeping the lakes' water within the lakes.

Among the issues to be discussed at the meetings are what is in the agreements and how it impacts Ohio, what citizens support in the agreements, and what citizens oppose in the agreements.

The meetings will be held in Huron, Ohio, from 1 to 3 p.m. at Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve Visitors Center, 2514 Cleveland Rd., and in Oregon from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Maumee Bay State Park's Quilter Lodge, 1750 State Park Rd. 2, off North Curtice Road.