TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Two of the Great Lakes have hit their lowest water levels ever recorded, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Tuesday, capping more than a decade of below-normal rain and snowfall and higher temperatures that boost evaporation.
Measurements taken last month show Lake Huron and Lake Michigan have reached their lowest ebb since record keeping began in 1918, and the lakes could set additional records over the next few months, the corps said. The lakes were 29 inches below their long-term average and had declined 17 inches since January 2012.
The other Great Lakes — Superior, Erie and Ontario — were also well below average.
"We're in an extreme situation," said Keith Kompoltowicz, watershed hydrology chief for the corps district office in Detroit.
The low water has caused heavy economic losses by forcing cargo ships to carry lighter loads, leaving boat docks high and dry, and damaging fish-spawning areas. And vegetation has sprung up in newly exposed shoreline bottomlands, a turnoff for hotel customers who prefer sandy beaches.
Comments
We need to sent more water down the Mississippi .
I think I saw this on a Jesse Ventura show a while ago about where its going????
Here's another source of water loss:
http://ecowatch.org/2013/mi-frack-job...
Keep in mind, the Great Lakes hold 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water.
The US Army Corps of Engineers is blaming global warming for the low water levels. HA! Check out this article which says the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which many view as a source of the problem because it has a history of dredging in the St. Clair River to open Lakes Michigan and Huron to deep-draft navigation.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsi...
The following links to a good article from a Michigan water well driller’s perspective on fracking .
http://www.votejimnash.com/2012/09/a-...