<Li> Great Storms of the North American Great Lakes </Li> <Li> Great Lakes Storm of 1913 </Li> <P> In 1872, a treaty gave access to the St. Lawrence River to the United States, and access to Lake Michigan to the Dominion of Canada . The International Joint Commission was established in 1909 to help prevent and resolve disputes relating to the use and quality of boundary waters, and to advise Canada and the United States on questions related to water resources . Concerns over diversion of Lake water are of concern to both Americans and Canadians . Some water is diverted through the Chicago River to operate the Illinois Waterway but the flow is limited by treaty . Possible schemes for bottled water plants and diversion to dry regions of the continent raise concerns . Under the U.S. "Water Resources Development Act", diversion of water from the Great Lakes Basin requires the approval of all eight Great Lakes governors through the Great Lakes Commission, which rarely occurs . International treaties regulate large diversions . </P> <P> In 1998, the Canadian company Nova Group won approval from the Province of Ontario to withdraw 158,000,000 U.S. gallons (600,000 m) of Lake Superior water annually to ship by tanker to Asian countries . Public outcry forced the company to abandon the plan before it began . Since that time, the eight Great Lakes Governors and the Premiers of Ontario and Quebec have negotiated the Great Lakes - Saint Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement and the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact that would prevent most future diversion proposals and all long - distance ones . The agreements strengthen protection against abusive water withdrawal practices within the Great Lakes basin . On December 13, 2005, the Governors and Premiers signed these two agreements, the first of which is between all ten jurisdictions . It is somewhat more detailed and protective, though its legal strength has not yet been tested in court . The second, the Great Lakes Compact, has been approved by the state legislatures of all eight states that border the Great Lakes as well as the U.S. Congress, and was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 3, 2008 . </P>

Who owns the great lakes canada or usa
find me the text answering this question