Global Rumblings: Re: Lake levels sink, state fears rise

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Re: Lake levels sink, state fears rise

Like I said:
What we need is MORE GLOBAL WARMING to melt some more snow to raise them lakes. This is definitely Bush's fault.
Everybody, get out your hair dryers and rev up your SUV's!!!
deexxoo

On 6/13/07, Liza <cassiopeia@aaahawk.com> wrote:

Lake levels sink, state fears rise

Superior's record low likely to hit shipping, recreation

Jim Lynch / The Detroit News

Todd McInturf / The Detroit News

St. Clair Shores resident Joyce Thurman, 66, sees low water at the Lange Street Canal. See full image

Related Articles and Links

Special report: The Great Lakes, an endangered legacy

Todd McInturf / The Detroit News

Lake St. Clair's dropping water level is noticeable near the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club. Water levels in lakes Huron, Michigan, St. Clair, Erie and Ontario are on track to fall below average in the fall. See full image

HARRISON TOWNSHIP -- Lake Superior water levels are headed toward record lows in early fall, a projection that is causing concern about an eventual trickle-down effect in the other Great Lakes as well as Lake St. Clair.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' June forecast -- looking ahead to September and October -- predicts Superior's water level will dip under the record low for that time of the year. That low was set in 1925.

Water levels in lakes Huron, Michigan, St. Clair, Erie and Ontario are all on track to fall below average in early autumn, according to Army Corps estimates.

Residents in Marquette have seen Superior's waters retreat from the shore in unprecedented fashion over a 20-year span. Pat Black, a longtime owner of a home on Superior's shores near Marquette, now finds her property has 50 feet of beach it never had before.

"This year is the first time I actually ever stepped back and said, 'Wow,'â€‚" she said.

Black, executive director of Marquette County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the new shoreline is not entirely unwelcome, since it creates areas of pristine beach for residents and tourists.

However, Black said at least one marina has been forced to transport boats to a harbor farther south to reach deep enough water to navigate.

The rest of the Great Lakes system has been hurt by the same factors affecting Superior -- low precipitation, high evaporation and reduced ice cover.

Tim Calappi, an engineer with the Army Corps, explained that water evaporates off the lakes and ends up as rain outside the Great Lakes basin. That causes a net loss of water, he said.

Consumers face higher prices

The loss of water means homeowners, resort owners and marina owners have more trouble getting boats in and out of the water, shipping companies need to lighten loads on freighters, and consumers face higher prices on goods and materials shipped via the lakes.

Harrison Township resident Richard Rittenhouse, a retired business owner who lives off a Lake St. Clair canal, said the levels he has seen in recent summers are disturbing.

And news of Lake Superior's problems doesn't help.

"Down here they've always said that the waters rise and fall on a seven-year pattern," said Rittenhouse, 58, whose company did construction work on docks and seawalls.

"I'm not seeing that smooth up-and-down pattern anymore."

Because Lake Superior is the deepest of the Great Lakes, lower water levels are less problematic there than in lakes Michigan or Huron, said Bill Duckwall, who owns Uncle Ducky Charters near Marquette.

Lake 'gets deep pretty quickly'

"Superior is a lake that gets deep pretty quickly," said Duckwall, who doesn't expect problems for his business. "Other lakes can go pretty far out before you hit the deeper water."

One of those is St. Clair, where shallow waters and dropping levels combine with penetrating sunshine to create dense underwater growth near shores. The growth can foul propellers and prevent some owners from launching their craft from home docks or even some marinas.

As recently as a year and a half ago, Rittenhouse was unable to get his boat down the canal that backs up to his home -- the only route available for him to reach Lake St. Clair.

The Army Corps of Engineers' three-month projection for St. Clair is at least 7 inches below normal.

Lows for Michigan, Huron

Lakes Michigan and Huron receive 20 percent to 30 percent of their water from Superior.

At the same time in September that Superior is expected to hit a record low, engineers predict Huron and Michigan will be around 20 inches below normal, roughly at the same point they were last year.

And simply by holding steady, Huron has brought a nervous smile to the face of Rick Valley, owner of the Port Au Gres Sports Center near the Saginaw Bay.

The lowest water in the marina right now provides 4 feet of depth for boats. The largest boat docked right now requires 3 1/2feet of clearance to come in and out of the dock area.

'A big problem'

"If it goes down another foot, it's going to be a big problem," Valley said. "Every port from here to Bay City has already been dredged, and you can only do that so many times."

Even those whose livelihood does not come directly from the water could be affected by falling water levels.

The shipping companies that traverse the Great Lakes waterways are hurt by the decreasing levels and, eventually, they pass that pain on to the consumers.

"For every inch of draft we lose, depending on the size of the ship, you're talking about a loss in the amount of freight you can carry between 50 to 270 tons," said Glen Nekvasil, vice president of corporate communications for the Lake Carriers' Association, which represents the shipping industry.

Lighter payloads require additional trips, and additional trips lead to higher production costs, which raise prices on a variety of goods.

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070612/METRO/706120396