EPA: Zebra mussels may increase beach muck - Michigan, Great Lakes Environmental & Conservation Issues - MLive.comEPA: Zebra mussels may increase beach muck
by Justin Engel | The Saginaw News
Friday February 01, 2008, 7:42 AM
Environmental Protection Agency officials updated a mid-Michigan crowd on plans to explore nutrient levels in the Saginaw Bay.
About 100 people attended the Saginaw Valley State University-hosted forum that included a recap of dioxin dredging in the Tittabawassee and Saginaw rivers in 2007.
Much of the meeting focused on zebra mussels and other invasive species that are changing the makeup of Lake Huron and its connecting waterways.
James Schardt, a scientist with the EPA's Chicago office, said the emergence of zebra mussels has "created a real nutrient problem" in Lake Huron.
"They're really sucking up nutrients," Schardt said, "and making the water clearer."
The translucency is allowing sunlight to reach depths of the water previously left in the dark, he said. That's resulted in more algae that some refer to as "muck" to form along shorelines.
Scientists aren't as clear how much of a problem that has created for the Saginaw Bay.
Schardt said EPA and state Department of Environmental Quality officials plan to collaborate on a study this summer to examine the algae levels on the bay.
Gary Gulezian, another EPA scientist, said the Great Lakes and its connecting waterways are "changing in a way we haven't seen before" because of the invasive species.
"Scientists are questioning what they used to believe," he said.
The meeting came less than a month after the EPA cut off cleanup talks with Dow Chemical Co. over decades-old dioxin contamination in the Tittabawassee River system.
Officials didn't add much to that discussion Thursday other than to say they couldn't disclose the reasons for the abandoned negotiations because of a confidentiality agreement.
The meeting also included a recap of the completed clean-up efforts of four dioxin "hot spots" dredged in 2007, including a contaminated spot in the Saginaw River near Wickes Park in Saginaw.
Meanwhile, officials with the DEQ are preparing for the next quarterly dioxin meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7, at the Horizons Conference Center in Saginaw Township.
The meeting will include updates on Tittabawassee River studies and plans for 2008.
Dow, which typically co-hosts the meetings, will not participate.
Officials with the Midland chemical complex cited a lack of new information since a November meeting as the reason for the absence.
Bayfield Ontario
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
Half steps not good enough for lakes
Half steps not good enough for lakes
Half steps not good enough for lakes
January 28, 2008
Swishing out ballast tanks with salt water is a helpful measure in the fight against foreign species invading the Great Lakes. But it won't deter every menace, and Michigan must keep pressing for more extensive solutions.
The St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. announced this month that no ship can enter without a saltwater rinse of its tanks at least 200 miles out into the ocean. The rule is aimed at ships that enter without ballast water but often have puddles of sludge from previous trips lodged in the nooks of the otherwise "empty" tanks. That sludge can contain a potent load of troublesome eggs, larvae and plants just waiting to be revived in freshwater.
A University of Michigan study has shown that saltwater rinses can cut back appreciably on the number of organisms that survive. Ships that contain ballast water already must follow a protocol for exchanging their ballast water at sea before they reach the seaway.
The salt water cuts down considerably on the number of freshwater organisms that survive the trip, and it is freshwater species that pose the danger here. Zebra mussels, initially released here, have now spread as far as California.
As welcome as the Seaway's new rule is, it also poses a danger that Congress will take it as an excuse to slack off on ordering complete water treatment. Shippers may use it to evade the threat of a lawsuit from the National Wildlife Federation, which continues in discussions on the subject.
Another recent study shows some hull-clinging organisms may survive an oceanic voyage, suggesting even ballast water treatment may not suffice. But that is surely a lesser problem. In the fight to get ships to stop dumping foreign species here, Congress has to get beyond every half-measure and distraction.
Half steps not good enough for lakes
January 28, 2008
Swishing out ballast tanks with salt water is a helpful measure in the fight against foreign species invading the Great Lakes. But it won't deter every menace, and Michigan must keep pressing for more extensive solutions.
The St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. announced this month that no ship can enter without a saltwater rinse of its tanks at least 200 miles out into the ocean. The rule is aimed at ships that enter without ballast water but often have puddles of sludge from previous trips lodged in the nooks of the otherwise "empty" tanks. That sludge can contain a potent load of troublesome eggs, larvae and plants just waiting to be revived in freshwater.
A University of Michigan study has shown that saltwater rinses can cut back appreciably on the number of organisms that survive. Ships that contain ballast water already must follow a protocol for exchanging their ballast water at sea before they reach the seaway.
The salt water cuts down considerably on the number of freshwater organisms that survive the trip, and it is freshwater species that pose the danger here. Zebra mussels, initially released here, have now spread as far as California.
As welcome as the Seaway's new rule is, it also poses a danger that Congress will take it as an excuse to slack off on ordering complete water treatment. Shippers may use it to evade the threat of a lawsuit from the National Wildlife Federation, which continues in discussions on the subject.
Another recent study shows some hull-clinging organisms may survive an oceanic voyage, suggesting even ballast water treatment may not suffice. But that is surely a lesser problem. In the fight to get ships to stop dumping foreign species here, Congress has to get beyond every half-measure and distraction.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Great Lakes' Lower Water Levels Propel a Cascade of Hardships - washingtonpost.com
Great Lakes' Lower Water Levels Propel a Cascade of Hardships - washingtonpost.com
Great Lakes' Lower Water Levels Propel a Cascade of Hardships
Lake Michigan off Chicago is far less icy than in years past, one of several reasons for dropping water levels in the Great Lakes. (By Kari Lydersen -- The Washington Post)
By Kari Lydersen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 27, 2008; Page A04
CHICAGO -- A decade ago, Chicago winters meant monumental ice hillocks and caves forming along the lakeshore, skirted by interlocking ice sheets like a giant jigsaw puzzle.
Today, it is rare to see more than a thin frozen shelf or a few small ice floes sloshing in Lake Michigan below the city's skyline.
Decreased ice cover on the Great Lakes, probably caused by increasing air and water temperatures and high winds, is a major culprit in lowering water levels, which have hurt the shipping industry, forced lakeside power plants to extend their cooling pipes, frustrated recreational boaters, dried up wetlands and left coastal landowners with docks extending over yards of unsightly muck.
In September, Lake Superior broke its 81-year-old low-water record by 1.6 inches, and last month it was a foot below its seasonal average. It appeared that Lake Michigan and Lake Huron would log record lows for January until storms helped levels stay above the marks set in the 1960s.
The low water has forced freighters that haul iron ore, steel, limestone and other raw materials to lighten their loads and change their routes to avoid running aground in shallow harbors and waterways.
"They literally do load these ships by the inch," said Stuart H. Theis, executive director of the U.S. Great Lakes Shipping Association. "To the lowest common denominator, the shallowest point along the way."
In the past two years, freighters have hit bottom or had to turn around in numerous locations, including Muskegon Harbor and the Saginaw River in Michigan and Rochester, N.Y.
The Lake Carriers' Association, which represents "captive" ships that travel only within the Great Lakes, has called for increased dredging at numerous "choke points" in response to low water levels. LCA spokesman Glen Nekvasil said vessels were running an average of 15 percent below capacity last season. Depending on the size of the ship, every inch of lost draft -- the depth to which a ship descends -- means 50 to 270 tons less cargo.
"And we're not talking inches, we're talking feet," Nekvasil said. "It's not just affecting the steamships; it's the steelworkers who depend on that iron ore, the workers at the limestone quarries. We move the raw materials that keep everyone else going."
Environmentalists are concerned that the drying of wetlands along the shores will have serious effects on commercial and recreational fishing.
"We firmly believe the changes we're seeing are impacting fisheries, possibly in a dramatic way," said Jeff Skelding of the National Wildlife Federation. "Disruption of habitat will impede fish species from being able to reproduce."
Marc Gaden, spokesman of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, said the changes may be conducive to some species and harmful to others. The same can be said for people.
Great Lakes' Lower Water Levels Propel a Cascade of Hardships
Lake Michigan off Chicago is far less icy than in years past, one of several reasons for dropping water levels in the Great Lakes. (By Kari Lydersen -- The Washington Post)
By Kari Lydersen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 27, 2008; Page A04
CHICAGO -- A decade ago, Chicago winters meant monumental ice hillocks and caves forming along the lakeshore, skirted by interlocking ice sheets like a giant jigsaw puzzle.
Today, it is rare to see more than a thin frozen shelf or a few small ice floes sloshing in Lake Michigan below the city's skyline.
Decreased ice cover on the Great Lakes, probably caused by increasing air and water temperatures and high winds, is a major culprit in lowering water levels, which have hurt the shipping industry, forced lakeside power plants to extend their cooling pipes, frustrated recreational boaters, dried up wetlands and left coastal landowners with docks extending over yards of unsightly muck.
In September, Lake Superior broke its 81-year-old low-water record by 1.6 inches, and last month it was a foot below its seasonal average. It appeared that Lake Michigan and Lake Huron would log record lows for January until storms helped levels stay above the marks set in the 1960s.
The low water has forced freighters that haul iron ore, steel, limestone and other raw materials to lighten their loads and change their routes to avoid running aground in shallow harbors and waterways.
"They literally do load these ships by the inch," said Stuart H. Theis, executive director of the U.S. Great Lakes Shipping Association. "To the lowest common denominator, the shallowest point along the way."
In the past two years, freighters have hit bottom or had to turn around in numerous locations, including Muskegon Harbor and the Saginaw River in Michigan and Rochester, N.Y.
The Lake Carriers' Association, which represents "captive" ships that travel only within the Great Lakes, has called for increased dredging at numerous "choke points" in response to low water levels. LCA spokesman Glen Nekvasil said vessels were running an average of 15 percent below capacity last season. Depending on the size of the ship, every inch of lost draft -- the depth to which a ship descends -- means 50 to 270 tons less cargo.
"And we're not talking inches, we're talking feet," Nekvasil said. "It's not just affecting the steamships; it's the steelworkers who depend on that iron ore, the workers at the limestone quarries. We move the raw materials that keep everyone else going."
Environmentalists are concerned that the drying of wetlands along the shores will have serious effects on commercial and recreational fishing.
"We firmly believe the changes we're seeing are impacting fisheries, possibly in a dramatic way," said Jeff Skelding of the National Wildlife Federation. "Disruption of habitat will impede fish species from being able to reproduce."
Marc Gaden, spokesman of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, said the changes may be conducive to some species and harmful to others. The same can be said for people.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
The Sarnia Observer - Ontario, CA
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.
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.
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