Great Recycling and Northern Development Canal

However, the reluctance of the US and Canadian governments to enter into large scale co-operative international water sharing arrangements and claims of potential negative environmental impact of the proposal have prevented serious consideration of the idea.

The Canadian government further stated that exhaustive studies had indicated no additional sources of freshwater were available in Canada to replace the waters that would be removed from the Great Lakes by the proposed diversion.

Kierans disputed the accuracy of the 1959 Canadian government's position and asserted that the GRAND Canal could provide additional fresh water to the Great Lakes.

[2] In his proposal, Kierans asserts that experience in the Netherlands demonstrates that a large new freshwater source can be created in Canada's James Bay by collecting runoff from many adjacent river basins in a sea level, outflow-only dyke-enclosure.

The project would capture and make available for recycling the entire outflows of the La Grande, Eastmain, Rupert, Broadback, Nottaway, Harricana, Moose, Albany, Kapiskau, Attawapiskat and Ekwan rivers.

[3] Moreover, Kierans claims that the California Aqueduct proves that runoff to James Bay can be beneficially recycled long distances and over high elevations via the GRAND Canal.

Most of the water diverted would be exported to the U.S.[citation needed] In addition, the shoreline communities of Attawapiskat, Kashechewan, Fort Albany, Moosonee and Moose Factory in Ontario, and Waskaganish, Eastmain, Wemindji and Chisasibi in Quebec would be forced to relocate.

Map of GRAND (left) compared with map of the North American Water and Power Alliance (right), a continental water management scheme of similar scale
Map of North America showing fresh water runoff. Note that 20% of the runoff flows into Hudson-James Bay where less than 1% of the population live.
Possible scenario of the GRAND Canal scheme, showing the initial water capture and diversion into Lake Huron. Water would be pumped south from the newly formed James Lake into the Harricana River , crossing into the Great Lakes watershed near Amos , into Lake Timiskaming and the Ottawa River , crossing near Mattawa into Lake Nipissing and the French River to Lake Huron .
The GRAND Canal scheme could alter the breeding grounds of the critically endangered Eskimo curlew .