What is a BUI?
According to the Canada-Ontario Agreement (2007), a beneficial use is defined as the ability of living organisms (including humans) to use the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem without adverse consequences. A BUI or beneficial use impairment is the impairment of the beneficial uses that were identified by the Canada-United States Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1987 (GLWQA). The GLWQA identified 14 beneficial uses that must be restored in order to remove the designation as an Area of Concern (AOC).
The draft Detroit River Canadian Stage 2 Remedial Action Plan Report provides an update on the status of each of the beneficial uses. It is proposed that the Canadian side of the Detroit River has 9 beneficial uses known to be impaired, 2 that are not impaired, and 3 that require further assessment. Each BUI has a set of locally-defined delisting criteria that are specific, measurable, achievable, and scientifically-defensible. The delisting criteria help guide monitoring and assessment of the BUI's status. The DRCC has also proposed revised delisting criteria for all 14 possible BUIs in the Detroit River AOC (see the draft Stage 2 RAP Report).
The table below lists all 14 possible impairments identified by the GLWQA as well as the proposed status for the Detroit River Canadian AOC (see the draft Stage 2 RAP Report for more information).
| No. |
Beneficial Use Impairment |
Proposed Status |
| 1 | Restrictions on fish and wildlife consumption |
Impaired (fish) |
| 2 | Tainting of fish and wildlife flavour |
Requires further assessment |
| 3 | Degradation of fish and wildlife populations |
Impaired |
| 4 | Fish tumours or other deformities |
Impaired |
| 5 | Bird or animal deformities or reproductive problems |
Impaired |
| 6 | Degradation of benthos |
Impaired |
| 7 | Restrictions on dredging activities |
Impaired |
| 8 | Eutrophication or undesirable algae |
Not impaired |
| 9 | Restrictions on drinking water consumption, or taste and odour problems |
Not impaired |
| 10 | Beach closings |
Impaired |
| 11 | Degradation of aesthetics |
Impaired |
| 12 | Added costs to agriculture or industry |
Requires further assessment
|
| 13 | Degradation of phytoplankton and zooplankton populations |
Requires further assessment
|
| 14 | Loss of fish and wildlife habitat |
Impaired |