The Sarnia Observer - Ontario, CA
Pilot project shows promise
Posted 18 mins ago
When it comes to finding innovative solutions to major problems, you can't beat local companies.
That's being demonstrated at Canatara beach, where a Corunna firm has come up with a unique way to fix decaying groynes.
The groynes, put in place over the past 50 years, are used to trap water-borne sand and to extend beaches on the Lake Huron shoreline. Put simply, they've prevented our beaches from disappearing down the river.
But now they're in trouble. Many have been badly damaged over the years, creating aesthetic and safety problems. Unfortunately, they aren't cheap to replace.
That's where Global Marine Protection comes in. It is testing a pilot project on a groyne near the bandshell at Canatara Park. The recently completed job involved adding new steel plates and covering the whole with a rubber-like substance.
The special polymer coating can withstand crashing waves better than steel, according to Terry McCallum, the city's director of community services.
If all goes according to plan, the ice will slide right off the groynes, instead of crashing and freezing to the steel.
And the cost, estimated at around $25,000 per groyne, is much cheaper than the bill for replacement.
This is a project that has a lot of potential. Indeed, you can find decaying groynes across the Great Lakes basin. There are hundreds of thousands of kilometres of waterfront in Ontario and the eight U.S. states that border the lakes.
And of course you can find groynes on other bodies of water in North America and around the world, for that matter.
It may take time, but we suspect an innovation hatched right here in Lambton County could eventually be used to solve a problem plaguing waterfront communities far and wide.
Bayfield Ontario
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Ironwood Daily Globe, Ironwood, Michigan, USA | News
Ironwood Daily Globe, Ironwood, Michigan, USA | News
Lake Superior water levels still a foot below normal
Published Saturday, January 26, 2008 8:52:33 AM Central Time
Lake Superior water levels in late December remained about a foot below normal, according to the National Weather Service office in Marquette.
Despite some heavy rainfall during September and October in the Lake Superior drainage basin, water levels were a foot below normal, but seven to eight inches above the record-low level set in 1925.
Above normal temperatures and lack of precipitation for 2005, 2006 and 2007 caused the lake's water level to come within an inch or two of record lows in 2007, but the situation has been gradually improving.
The highest December water level was 603.1 feet in 1986, while the low was 600.1 in 1925. On Dec. 1, 2007, it was 600.9, and it fell to 600.7 on Dec. 31.
Water levels in the Lake Michigan/Huron drainage basins also fell slowly in December, according to the NWS. They hovered nearly 15 inches below the long-term mean and just one to two inches above the record low established in 1964
Lake Superior water levels still a foot below normal
Published Saturday, January 26, 2008 8:52:33 AM Central Time
Lake Superior water levels in late December remained about a foot below normal, according to the National Weather Service office in Marquette.
Despite some heavy rainfall during September and October in the Lake Superior drainage basin, water levels were a foot below normal, but seven to eight inches above the record-low level set in 1925.
Above normal temperatures and lack of precipitation for 2005, 2006 and 2007 caused the lake's water level to come within an inch or two of record lows in 2007, but the situation has been gradually improving.
The highest December water level was 603.1 feet in 1986, while the low was 600.1 in 1925. On Dec. 1, 2007, it was 600.9, and it fell to 600.7 on Dec. 31.
Water levels in the Lake Michigan/Huron drainage basins also fell slowly in December, according to the NWS. They hovered nearly 15 inches below the long-term mean and just one to two inches above the record low established in 1964
Friday, January 25, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
News - CKNX Radio AM920
News - CKNX Radio AM920Lake Huron Water Levels A Concern For Bruce County
The lowering water levels in Lake Huron have many residents concerned and a petition has been put together to encourage the Canadian Government to take action.
Mitch Twolan is on the Bruce County Agriculture, Tourism and Planning, Land Division Committee.
He feels that county council needs to become involved in the issue, because it can affect tourism along the lakeshore.
A report has indicated that Lake Huron water levels have dropped by 60 centimeters since 1970.
The lowering water levels in Lake Huron have many residents concerned and a petition has been put together to encourage the Canadian Government to take action.
Mitch Twolan is on the Bruce County Agriculture, Tourism and Planning, Land Division Committee.
He feels that county council needs to become involved in the issue, because it can affect tourism along the lakeshore.
A report has indicated that Lake Huron water levels have dropped by 60 centimeters since 1970.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
News - CKNX Radio AM920
News - CKNX Radio AM920
Another Reason for Lower Lake Huron Water Level
We know that water levels in the Great Lakes are cyclical and that we've been at the low end of the cycle for the last few years.
But a coastal resources manager with the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation says even within those cycles there can be some very dramatic fluctuations in water levels.
Geoff Peach says this natural phenomenon is called sloshing or a seiche and it can be caused by either very high winds or a dramatic drop in barometric pressure before a storm.
Peach says the water action is similar to sloshing water back and forth in a bathtub and the drop in levels is so dramatic that a person on a shallow beach can suddenly have twenty to thirty feet of beach that they didn't have previously.
Peach says just like water in a bathtub, when the wind stops, or the barametric pressure returns to normal, the water levels move back and forth and then settle at their previous levels.
The Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation spokesperson says that usually happens within a few hours.
Another Reason for Lower Lake Huron Water Level
We know that water levels in the Great Lakes are cyclical and that we've been at the low end of the cycle for the last few years.
But a coastal resources manager with the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation says even within those cycles there can be some very dramatic fluctuations in water levels.
Geoff Peach says this natural phenomenon is called sloshing or a seiche and it can be caused by either very high winds or a dramatic drop in barometric pressure before a storm.
Peach says the water action is similar to sloshing water back and forth in a bathtub and the drop in levels is so dramatic that a person on a shallow beach can suddenly have twenty to thirty feet of beach that they didn't have previously.
Peach says just like water in a bathtub, when the wind stops, or the barametric pressure returns to normal, the water levels move back and forth and then settle at their previous levels.
The Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation spokesperson says that usually happens within a few hours.
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