News for Thursday, December 27th, 2007
Water level crisis in Great Lakes
Written by Jim Birchard
The forecast for Lake Huron and Georgian Bay as far as water levels are concerned is not looking good.
That is according to Chuck Southam of Enviornment Canada s Centre for Inland Water.
He says as the end of the year approaches, water levels in Lake Huron and Georgian Bay are approaching record lows.
Southam says in fact the levels are 66 cm below average for this time of year and only 8 centimetres higher than the record low level recorded back in 1964.
He says the latest six month forcast shows that if low water supply conditions continue through December, levels on the lake could begin 2008 as low as they were in 1964 and new record monthly lows could follow.
Southam says to see any significiant rebound in lake levels over the near term there would have be a substatial amount of snow this winer or rain this spring over the entire water shed.
He says the only good news is that the water temperatures this December are about one degree cooler than normal and that is help form more ice on Lake Huron and Georgian bay.
Ice formation helps slow down the evaporation of water from the lakes in the form of lake effect snow
He says there also is ice forming on the St. Clair river and that help slow the flow of water leaving the lakes and helps slow down the lowering of water levels as well.
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Lake level push 'appalling'
Lake level push 'appalling'
Fri, November 16, 2007
Sarnia's mayor says he's upset by a plan by U.S. senators to put 'speed bumps' in the St. Clair River to help raise the levels of lakes Michigan, Superior and Huron.
By CHIP MARTIN, SUN MEDIA
Their thirsty states and cities are eyeing the water in the Great Lakes, their coast guard conducted machine-gun firing tests on the lakes and now the Americans want to put so-called speed bumps in the St. Clair River.
The speed bumps, or flow inhibitors, would slow the flow of the river to raise the levels of lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior.
But Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley calls the notion "appalling."
"The idea of adding a flow inhibitor at this time, not based on science or engineering, but on politics, is appalling," Bradley wrote in a letter to International Joint Commission officials.
Senators from seven states have urged the IJC to slow the St. Clair, which they say is draining Lake Huron too quickly. They point to a Canadian study that suggested erosion and dredging of the waterway is responsible for flushing extra water down the St. Clair "drain."
The senators from states bordering the upper Great Lakes are concerned about record or near-record low water levels and are demanding fast action. They are unwilling to await the outcome of a $17.5-million bi-national study of upper Great Lakes water levels that the IJC has commissioned, due in 2009.
The senators, along with Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, want the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to revive plans from the past to install river bottom flow inhibitors such as concrete weirs to slow the flow of the 50-kilometre-long St. Clair.
Granholm and others are urging "a quick fix . . . to address low water levels that are hurting shippers, boaters and wildlife," the Detroit Free Press reported recently.
Their politicking has Bradley seeing red. He said this week such a knee-jerk reaction to low water levels is wrong.
Bradley fired off a letter to David Miller, mayor of Toronto and Canadian chairperson of the binational Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, urging everyone to await the outcome of the IJC-commissioned study that is underway. His concern was copied to Herb Gray, chairperson of the Canadian section of the IJC.
Bradley closely monitors American plans for the lakes. He raised a fuss about the U.S. Coast Guard practice-firing machine-guns as part of anti-terrorist training, an exercise that was terminated. Now he is urging U.S. politicians to await the 2009 release of the scientific study.
"The message is simple," said Bradley. "Let science dictate, not the political fix that is suggested."
At the IJC, Ted Yuzyk, a hydrologist who is co-director of that study, is aware of pressure from American politicians.
"There is a tremendous amount of public and political pressure," he conceded, all triggered by low water levels in the upper Lakes.
Yuzyk said preliminary evidence seems to have debunked a hypothesis from a $250,000 engineering study funded by Georgian Bay property owners that suggested erosion caused by dredging has enhanced the river's flow by as much as two per cent.
"The (Sarnia) mayor's got it perfectly right," Yuzyk said. "Let's give the study time to look at the results."
He noted the IJC can't do anything without a mandate from the American and Canadian governments.
Over the years, the boundary river has been dredged and after the last time, plans were approved to install water-slowing underwater devices outside the shipping lanes to compensate for the dredging. But a high water cycle and concern about the cost-benefits ratio scotched those plans, he said.
Critics of the speed bump plan warn when high water levels return flow inhibitors will only exacerbate high levels, creating more problems than they solve.
THE ST. CLAIR RIVER
- Described as fast-flowing river with many rapids by explorers as far back as the 1600s.
- Dredged to 6.4 metres in 1920.
- Dredged to 7.6 metres in 1933.
- Dredged to 8.2 metres in 1960.
- Plans to impede water flow to compensate for dredging were developed in the 1970s, but later abandoned.
To learn about the latest study of Upper Great Lakes levels commissioned by the International Joint Commission (IJC), visit the study website at www.iugls.org
Fri, November 16, 2007
Sarnia's mayor says he's upset by a plan by U.S. senators to put 'speed bumps' in the St. Clair River to help raise the levels of lakes Michigan, Superior and Huron.
By CHIP MARTIN, SUN MEDIA
Their thirsty states and cities are eyeing the water in the Great Lakes, their coast guard conducted machine-gun firing tests on the lakes and now the Americans want to put so-called speed bumps in the St. Clair River.
The speed bumps, or flow inhibitors, would slow the flow of the river to raise the levels of lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior.
But Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley calls the notion "appalling."
"The idea of adding a flow inhibitor at this time, not based on science or engineering, but on politics, is appalling," Bradley wrote in a letter to International Joint Commission officials.
Senators from seven states have urged the IJC to slow the St. Clair, which they say is draining Lake Huron too quickly. They point to a Canadian study that suggested erosion and dredging of the waterway is responsible for flushing extra water down the St. Clair "drain."
The senators from states bordering the upper Great Lakes are concerned about record or near-record low water levels and are demanding fast action. They are unwilling to await the outcome of a $17.5-million bi-national study of upper Great Lakes water levels that the IJC has commissioned, due in 2009.
The senators, along with Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, want the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to revive plans from the past to install river bottom flow inhibitors such as concrete weirs to slow the flow of the 50-kilometre-long St. Clair.
Granholm and others are urging "a quick fix . . . to address low water levels that are hurting shippers, boaters and wildlife," the Detroit Free Press reported recently.
Their politicking has Bradley seeing red. He said this week such a knee-jerk reaction to low water levels is wrong.
Bradley fired off a letter to David Miller, mayor of Toronto and Canadian chairperson of the binational Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, urging everyone to await the outcome of the IJC-commissioned study that is underway. His concern was copied to Herb Gray, chairperson of the Canadian section of the IJC.
Bradley closely monitors American plans for the lakes. He raised a fuss about the U.S. Coast Guard practice-firing machine-guns as part of anti-terrorist training, an exercise that was terminated. Now he is urging U.S. politicians to await the 2009 release of the scientific study.
"The message is simple," said Bradley. "Let science dictate, not the political fix that is suggested."
At the IJC, Ted Yuzyk, a hydrologist who is co-director of that study, is aware of pressure from American politicians.
"There is a tremendous amount of public and political pressure," he conceded, all triggered by low water levels in the upper Lakes.
Yuzyk said preliminary evidence seems to have debunked a hypothesis from a $250,000 engineering study funded by Georgian Bay property owners that suggested erosion caused by dredging has enhanced the river's flow by as much as two per cent.
"The (Sarnia) mayor's got it perfectly right," Yuzyk said. "Let's give the study time to look at the results."
He noted the IJC can't do anything without a mandate from the American and Canadian governments.
Over the years, the boundary river has been dredged and after the last time, plans were approved to install water-slowing underwater devices outside the shipping lanes to compensate for the dredging. But a high water cycle and concern about the cost-benefits ratio scotched those plans, he said.
Critics of the speed bump plan warn when high water levels return flow inhibitors will only exacerbate high levels, creating more problems than they solve.
THE ST. CLAIR RIVER
- Described as fast-flowing river with many rapids by explorers as far back as the 1600s.
- Dredged to 6.4 metres in 1920.
- Dredged to 7.6 metres in 1933.
- Dredged to 8.2 metres in 1960.
- Plans to impede water flow to compensate for dredging were developed in the 1970s, but later abandoned.
To learn about the latest study of Upper Great Lakes levels commissioned by the International Joint Commission (IJC), visit the study website at www.iugls.org
Low water holds freighters in Lake Huron
Low water holds freighters in Lake Huron
Thu, November 8, 2007
By SUN MEDIA
SARNIA -- Southern Lake Huron looked like a freighter parking lot Tuesday after a fall storm caused downstream water levels to fall about 25 centimetres in the Detroit River.
At one point, at least a dozen ships were cooling their heels north of Sarnia waiting for safe water levels to return.
"They just have to ride it out," said Bruce Mair, officer in charge of the Canadian Coast Guard's Sarnia Marine Communications and Traffic Service.
Mair said strong winds drove a large volume of water into Lake Erie.
"If you check Buffalo, they're plus 46 (inches). They've got all the water," he said. "It's like a big bath tub. The water sloshes back and forth. We're not sure when the water is going to come back, it depends on the wind."
Thu, November 8, 2007
By SUN MEDIA
SARNIA -- Southern Lake Huron looked like a freighter parking lot Tuesday after a fall storm caused downstream water levels to fall about 25 centimetres in the Detroit River.
At one point, at least a dozen ships were cooling their heels north of Sarnia waiting for safe water levels to return.
"They just have to ride it out," said Bruce Mair, officer in charge of the Canadian Coast Guard's Sarnia Marine Communications and Traffic Service.
Mair said strong winds drove a large volume of water into Lake Erie.
"If you check Buffalo, they're plus 46 (inches). They've got all the water," he said. "It's like a big bath tub. The water sloshes back and forth. We're not sure when the water is going to come back, it depends on the wind."
Invasive plant threatening shoreline
Invasive plant threatening shoreline
Common reed could squeeze out native plants
Posted By Jim Algie
Updated 3 hours ago
Low water in Lake Huron has created an opening for an invasive non-native reed which appears to be moving north from areas of infestation in southern Bruce County and threatens beach dunes and wetlands, the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation says.
More aggressive than its native reed cousin, phragmites Australis — more commonly known as common reed — grows to a height of about 1.5 metres and has a large, feathery plume. It forms thick rhizome mats and could choke out a variety of endangered species in sensitive dune areas along Lake Huron’s Bruce County shore, researcher Geoff Peach said in a recent interview.
“These are vulnerable ecosystems anyway. This invasive plant adds an additional challenge to conserving our coastline,” said Peach, the manager of the non-profit Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation. The centre, based in Blyth, conducts research, education and community outreach projects.
Centre researchers documented phragmites infestations in Huron-Kinloss and Saugeen Shores this summer and experimented with eradication methods in a $29,000 project funded by Environment Canada’s Invasive Alien Species Partnership Program.
The project also includes developing an eradication manual for landowners and municipal governments, which Peach expects will be completed soon.
“This is a very opportunistic plant,” Peach said, and the low water levels have created large open beaches and an opening for the reed, which can “take advantage of the situation so it gets a foothold.”
Common reed outcompetes established plants and poses a threat to rare coastal beach and dune species such as American beachgrass and Great Lakes wheatgrass. Peach is particularly concerned about the threat to the endangered Pitcher’s thistle, a dune plant which is found sparingly in Bruce County and on Manitoulin Island.
Common reed has likely been present on the Lake Huron shore for about five years. However, it has taken off within the past two years, Peach said.
The centre’s report recommends urgent cutting at several sites with small infestations. It also recommends that it makes more sense to completely eliminate common reed from one area rather than to partially eliminate it from many. It also makes sense to eliminate common reed from the best quality, least infested areas first to allow the reestablishment of native plants.
Eradication can be tricky, Peach warned. The plant grows through root rhizomes and mechanical tillage or inadequate root excavation may just help the plant reproduce.
“We saw somebody using a Rototiller and grinding up a bunch of the plants in an effort to try and get rid of it on a shoreline property,” Peach said. “The problem is that the plant spreads through its roots and if you chop up each one into fragments it can grow into another plant.”
Common reed could squeeze out native plants
Posted By Jim Algie
Updated 3 hours ago
Low water in Lake Huron has created an opening for an invasive non-native reed which appears to be moving north from areas of infestation in southern Bruce County and threatens beach dunes and wetlands, the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation says.
More aggressive than its native reed cousin, phragmites Australis — more commonly known as common reed — grows to a height of about 1.5 metres and has a large, feathery plume. It forms thick rhizome mats and could choke out a variety of endangered species in sensitive dune areas along Lake Huron’s Bruce County shore, researcher Geoff Peach said in a recent interview.
“These are vulnerable ecosystems anyway. This invasive plant adds an additional challenge to conserving our coastline,” said Peach, the manager of the non-profit Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation. The centre, based in Blyth, conducts research, education and community outreach projects.
Centre researchers documented phragmites infestations in Huron-Kinloss and Saugeen Shores this summer and experimented with eradication methods in a $29,000 project funded by Environment Canada’s Invasive Alien Species Partnership Program.
The project also includes developing an eradication manual for landowners and municipal governments, which Peach expects will be completed soon.
“This is a very opportunistic plant,” Peach said, and the low water levels have created large open beaches and an opening for the reed, which can “take advantage of the situation so it gets a foothold.”
Common reed outcompetes established plants and poses a threat to rare coastal beach and dune species such as American beachgrass and Great Lakes wheatgrass. Peach is particularly concerned about the threat to the endangered Pitcher’s thistle, a dune plant which is found sparingly in Bruce County and on Manitoulin Island.
Common reed has likely been present on the Lake Huron shore for about five years. However, it has taken off within the past two years, Peach said.
The centre’s report recommends urgent cutting at several sites with small infestations. It also recommends that it makes more sense to completely eliminate common reed from one area rather than to partially eliminate it from many. It also makes sense to eliminate common reed from the best quality, least infested areas first to allow the reestablishment of native plants.
Eradication can be tricky, Peach warned. The plant grows through root rhizomes and mechanical tillage or inadequate root excavation may just help the plant reproduce.
“We saw somebody using a Rototiller and grinding up a bunch of the plants in an effort to try and get rid of it on a shoreline property,” Peach said. “The problem is that the plant spreads through its roots and if you chop up each one into fragments it can grow into another plant.”
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