Great Lakes
Canada and the United States are launching a $17.5 million study to determine why water levels in the upper Great Lakes have declined over the past several years. The study by the International Joint Commission will consider a number of possible causes, from climate change to erosion caused by dredging in the St. Clair River.
Water levels in Georgian Bay together with Lakes Huron and Michigan were as much as 20 inches below average this year. Huron and Michigan are at their lowest levels since the 1960s and Lake Superior is at its lowest since 1926.
The decline has caused problems for navigation, recreation, power generation and the ecology of the area. Wetlands are drying up, docks are no longer usable and beaches in some areas are overgrown with weeds. Yet the lower lakes, Ontario and Erie, are at or slightly above normal levels. Normally, water levels throughout the lakes would rise and fall more or less in unison.
September 18, 2006 6:50 AM | Category: Drought, Global Warming, Great Lakes, Lake Erie, Lake Michigan, Lake Superior