Great Lakes Water Levels – A Wisconsin Perspective

Following up on our July 31, 2012 post Great Lakes Water Level Update  https://nmconservationnetwork.org/2012/07/31/great-lakes-water-level-update/  , Dan Egan has written an excellent article which recently appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Pressure mounts to restore Great Lakes water levels.

You may recall that in 2004, an engineering firm was engaged by property owners from the northern Lake Huron Georgian Bay region to conduct a study on the likely impacts of dredging practices occurring in the St. Clair River.  Although the results of the study were largely discounted at the time, it was concluded that the water lost from the lakes by expanding the river channel was actually much greater than the 16 inches which had been assumed, and was increasing.

As stated in the story, “Lakes Michigan and Huron are now approaching their 14th year in a row of below-average levels. They are about 6 inches above their record low for September. Because of the drought and warm summer, forecasters predict them to drop another 2 inches by the middle of October, and they could hit record low levels – set nearly a half century ago – by the end of the year.”

If you’re interested in an issue which has attracted some unusual alliances, the entire story can be retrieved through the following link: http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/pressure-mounts-to-restore-great-lakes-water-levels-f76ug5a-170854881.html

The comment period on the Joint Commission study referenced in the article remains open though September 30, 2012, and you may do so by going to www.ijc.org/iuglsreport .