A new study released by the Brookings Institution [1] shows that local communities could be gaining significant financial benefits and increased property values if the Great Lakes are cleaned up. In order to capture these gains, however, a greater commitment must be made to fund the effort, reports The Buffalo News [2].

Buffalo could gain between $600 million and $1.1 billion in benefits from a cleaner Lake Erie, according to the study.Among other things, the cleanup would involve removing contamination from some of the most heavily polluted areas around the lakes, rebuilding aging sewer and water systems and aggressively working to control invasive species and rebuild fisheries.

Some estimates show that financial benefits could be significantly higher than even this particular study offers. With the Great Lakes facing several ecological threats, environmentalists hope that this study will help legislators push to fund the cleanup effort.