Americans treat Great Lakes like a 'toilet'

Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) -- The untreated urban sewage and effluents that flow into the Great Lakes each year are threatening a critical ecosystem that supplies water to millions of people, according to a study by a Canadian environmental group.rnrnEven though municipalities in the Great Lakes region have spent vast sums of money in recent decades upgrading their wastewater plants, the situation remains appalling, said the Sierra Legal Defense Fund.rnrnSierra Legal said in a report to be formally released Wednesday that it studied 20 Canadian and American cities, analyzing municipal sewage treatment and discharges into the Great Lakes basin, the Canadian Press news agency reported on the report Tuesday, saying it received an advance copy.