Five Democratic governors of states in the Great Lakes region Monday urged the candidates in next year's presidential election to support a plan for safeguarding their shared waters by boosting federal spending on treatment plants and environmental cleanups.

The program is part of the EPA's Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. It will fund up to a dozen projects, with the largest amount set at $500,000.

The fish is an endangered species in the state, but environmentalists say it needs federal protection.

About $14 million will be divided among roughly 30 projects targeting excess nutrients and storm water, which feed harmful algae blooms and otherwise degrade water quality.

Water quality trading allows someone like a farmer to get credits for reducing runoff on their land that they can then sell to buyers like wastewater treatment plants, developers, and cities.

Sens. Todd Young of Indiana and Gary Peters of Michigan have joined with several House members of both parties to introduce legislation requiring the first update of the maps in more than 20 years.

Lake Superior and Lake Erie are expected to break records set decades ago. Records are not predicted for Lakes Michigan, Huron and Ontario, but they're still expected to rise significantly.

Hunting and fishing groups have teamed up to form the Great Lakes Conservation Coalition, which will push for funding of a strategy proposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Lake Michigan's water level is expected to be above normal this summer, but isn't expected to hit record levels like Lake Superior and Lake Erie.

The Great Lakes are one of the world's largest sources of fresh water, but many Americans in surrounding cities face a dark irony: They can't afford their rising water bills.