There are two basic reasons to protect the Great Lakes. And three critical steps that need to be taken to provide that protection.

The first reason is simply that the lakes make up the largest freshwater system on the planet. As such, the lakes are a unique and vital resource and a key part of the global environment. They should be cleaned up for the sake of future generations and the overall health of the planet.

The second, as a new study pointed out last week, is that the lakes are an economic engine, and cleaning them up can serve to attract investments and other economic benefits for the Great Lakes region. As one of the study's authors, John C. Austin, put it: "These restoration activities are not just a nice thing to do for the environment. They are essential things to do for job creation."

The restoration activities he was talking about are part of a proposal to clean up the lakes that's been floating around Congress for nearly two years. It is the first of the three steps needed to provide necessary protection. The cleanup proposal is expensive, coming in at $26 billion. But, as the study by authors associated with the Brookings Institution found, the investment in cleaning up the lakes would pay off in big economic gains for the region.

The restoration plan includes more than $13 billion for sewer system upgrades, $1.6 billion to improve drinking water quality, nearly $1 billion to restore up to 550,000 acres of wetlands and about $800 million to clean up contaminated sediments. Funding would likely come from a combination of federal, state and local governments.

Congress has been balking at the price tag for two years. But the more time that passes, the more likely it is costs will go up. So Congress should act soon, but perhaps it should also consider a private-public partnership with companies that have a stake in the Great Lakes and are likely to gain financially from the improvements. Allowing those companies to benefit from making improvements might help move the project along.

Something else that might bring some urgency to the cleanup would be a healthy discussion in the 2008 presidential race. Citizens of the region should be sure to ask candidates about their stance on the cleanup and discern who offers more than mere rhetoric.

That's the first step. The next two steps are determining why water levels are dropping in some of the lakes (and fixing the problem if human activity is to blame) and enacting the Great Lakes Compact.