Water quality protection includes efforts to upgrade sewer and septic systems and to prevent nonpoint pollution from roads, farmland, and other dispersed sources from reaching waterways. Many Great Lakes communities still have sewer outflow systems that release untreated sewage and industrial waste directly into surface water bodies during storm events. If the frequency of heavy rains increase in the future, so will the need for upgrades to prevent water-borne disease from entering water supplies and to prevent illnesses that may be contracted while swimming, boating, and fishing.</ p>