The Great Lakes Commission (GLC) recently announced that concerned citizens and organizations can directly invest in improving and protecting water quality in Lake Erie through the Erie P Market project. For each credit purchased through the market, one pound of phosphorus will be prevented from entering the lake. Phosphorus runoff into the Great Lakes contributes to the formation of harmful algal blooms and dead zones and can threaten drinking water for millions of residents.
The purchase of an Erie P Market credit helps to install conservation practices like cover crops or grassed waterways on area farms. These practices keep valuable fertilizer on the land and out of nearby waterways. While relatively new in the Great Lakes, the use of environmental markets to sell and purchase water quality credits follows the model of carbon offsets, which has earned significant public support.