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.
Bayfield Ontario
Sunday, January 20, 2008
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.
Friday, January 11, 2008
The evaporation factor Warm winter weather + frozen ground = lower lake levels - mlive.com
The evaporation factor Warm winter weather + frozen ground = lower lake levels - mlive.com
The evaporation factor Warm winter weather + frozen ground = lower lake levels
Thursday, January 10, 2008By Jeff Kartjkart@bc-times.com | 894-9639
Lake Huron is in a fog, part of a gloomy cycle that's pushing water levels to record lows, scientists say.
Last week, a winter storm dropped more than a foot of snow over the Great Lakes. Over the weekend, warmer temperatures melted that snow, and much of that water evaporated into the air.
The cycle has been playing out for the past 30 years in the Great Lakes, said Cynthia Sellinger, co-author of a paper to be published Tuesday in Environmental Science & Technology, a scientific journal.
The evaporation factor Warm winter weather + frozen ground = lower lake levels
Thursday, January 10, 2008By Jeff Kartjkart@bc-times.com | 894-9639
Lake Huron is in a fog, part of a gloomy cycle that's pushing water levels to record lows, scientists say.
Last week, a winter storm dropped more than a foot of snow over the Great Lakes. Over the weekend, warmer temperatures melted that snow, and much of that water evaporated into the air.
The cycle has been playing out for the past 30 years in the Great Lakes, said Cynthia Sellinger, co-author of a paper to be published Tuesday in Environmental Science & Technology, a scientific journal.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
London Free Press - City & Region - Out with the axe; in with wheat and waves
London Free Press - City & Region - Out with the axe; in with wheat and waves
Out with the axe; in with wheat and waves
Thu, January 10, 2008
By DEBORA VAN BRENK, SUN MEDIA
GODERICH -- Huron County is adding some zip to its image.
A major makeover that includes a new logo and website has the county shelving its staid, 19th-century public face in favour of a bold, stylized visage.
Relegated to posterity is the old crest, which includes a walking plough, a mushroom-shaped wheat sheaf and an arm ominously wielding an axe.
That crest, curiously, shows no hint of the lake that first attracted settlers and continues to draw thousands to its shores each year.
The new image suggests a bold blue sky, white waves representing Lake Huron and a silhouette of trees underlined by a golden stalk of wheat.
"It shows that we are dynamic, forward-thinking and at the same time, it shows a great deal of respect for how we got here," said Huron County Warden John Bezaire.
County planner Carol Leeming, who headed the re-branding committee, said the logo and website are intended to show the "product, personality and promise" of the county.
They will also help the county's newly redesigned economic development department attract businesses and tourists to an area that dubs itself Ontario's West Coast.
Huron's rudimentary Internet presence started in 1998 and it had a first-generation website in 2003.
The revamped site -- www.huroncounty.ca with that ubiquitous new logo -- includes a searchable database of county departments, agendas, bylaws, tourist attractions and businesses.
Now residents can pay traffic tickets online, beach-goers can check lake water quality or get directions to their favourite inn and businesspeople can see what their factories or farms look like on an interactive aerial map.
Yesterday's big splash was accompanied by a three-dimensional logo carved in ice by Ice Cultures in Hensall.
But Huron isn't frozen in time, said Bezaire.
"Sometimes rural Canada is looked at as a pace behind everyone else," he said.
"This helps show we're progressive."
The old crest will still be used for ceremonial purposes.
The new logo will adorn county vehicles, signs and marketing material.
It was designed with the help of a Kitchener marketing firm, Two Blonde Chicks Inc.
Out with the axe; in with wheat and waves
Thu, January 10, 2008
By DEBORA VAN BRENK, SUN MEDIA
GODERICH -- Huron County is adding some zip to its image.
A major makeover that includes a new logo and website has the county shelving its staid, 19th-century public face in favour of a bold, stylized visage.
Relegated to posterity is the old crest, which includes a walking plough, a mushroom-shaped wheat sheaf and an arm ominously wielding an axe.
That crest, curiously, shows no hint of the lake that first attracted settlers and continues to draw thousands to its shores each year.
The new image suggests a bold blue sky, white waves representing Lake Huron and a silhouette of trees underlined by a golden stalk of wheat.
"It shows that we are dynamic, forward-thinking and at the same time, it shows a great deal of respect for how we got here," said Huron County Warden John Bezaire.
County planner Carol Leeming, who headed the re-branding committee, said the logo and website are intended to show the "product, personality and promise" of the county.
They will also help the county's newly redesigned economic development department attract businesses and tourists to an area that dubs itself Ontario's West Coast.
Huron's rudimentary Internet presence started in 1998 and it had a first-generation website in 2003.
The revamped site -- www.huroncounty.ca with that ubiquitous new logo -- includes a searchable database of county departments, agendas, bylaws, tourist attractions and businesses.
Now residents can pay traffic tickets online, beach-goers can check lake water quality or get directions to their favourite inn and businesspeople can see what their factories or farms look like on an interactive aerial map.
Yesterday's big splash was accompanied by a three-dimensional logo carved in ice by Ice Cultures in Hensall.
But Huron isn't frozen in time, said Bezaire.
"Sometimes rural Canada is looked at as a pace behind everyone else," he said.
"This helps show we're progressive."
The old crest will still be used for ceremonial purposes.
The new logo will adorn county vehicles, signs and marketing material.
It was designed with the help of a Kitchener marketing firm, Two Blonde Chicks Inc.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Global warming, water diversion may become local issues on the peninsula | Ramblings and Rumblings - www.portclintonnewsherald.com - Port Clinton, OH
Global warming, water diversion may become local issues on the peninsula | Ramblings and Rumblings - www.portclintonnewsherald.com - Port Clinton, OH
Global warming, water diversion may become local issues on the peninsula
A decade ago at a Village of Marblehead council meeting, the Honorable Mayor Kathleen “Kay” Dziak presiding, a councilman asked to be heard. He suggested that Village Council draft a resolution that would put the council on record as opposing any water diversion from Lake Erie and the Great Lakes to the southern and western states. There were muffled snickers from the few visitors, and council listened politely, then the evening's agenda moved forward. There never was discussion and there never was a resolution. Most likely the moment wasn't captured in any minutes and has been long ago forgotten. The idea that a handful of elected public officials from a small Village could take any action that might have some effect on larger communities along the North Coast or make a statement that would serve as a sentinel seemed at the time to be far-fetched. So did the dire predictions of shallower water, higher water temperatures, lower oxygen levels in the water, bad fishing and, if those weren't horrific enough, water being diverted from Lake Erie to New Mexico.
But now it appears that things really are heating up. Of course, it's early January, and the temperature is above 60 degrees, but I am referring to the various reports being issued that forecast serious trouble for Lake Erie in the coming years.
A 315-page report, “State of the Strait: Status and Trends of Key Indicators 2007,” released within the last month, is the culmination of a three-year study of the Detroit River-western Lake Erie corridor. The editors of the report include members of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the University of Windsor, Environment Canada, the International Joint Commission and the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy. Funding sources included several of the aforementioned agencies as well as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The gist of the report: 75 scientists from nearly 50 government, business, academic and public-interest groups claimed Lake Erie could drop 3.28 feet to 6.56 feet of water by 2066.
A 41-page report published by The National Wildlife Foundation, with the support of Environmental Advocates of New York and five other environmental groups from across the Great Lakes states, appeared in late November. The report was written based on the findings of researchers at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the International Joint Commission, the federal government and independent researchers. The report explains the findings of scientists and puts them into an enviro-political context. The gist of the report: prepare for a new climate change reality. Higher average temperatures in the Great Lakes region by 2050 will cause a 4.5-foot drop in Lake Michigan and Lake Huron waters because evaporation will outpace rain and snow. Since Lake Huron feeds Lake Erie, the already warmest, shallowest, and most ecologically fragile part of the Great Lakes may be doomed. The report advises that higher lake temperatures likely would lead to more algae and less oxygen in the water, curtailing fish production and crimping tourism.
A 3-page report issued by the International Association for Great Lakes Research highlights problems caused by pollution, invasive species, contaminated sediments, loss of wetlands and shoreline habitat. The report does not make any direct references to climate change.
So you can take a big gulp with the 315-page report or a small drink with the 3-page report, but those who are in the know seem to be indicating that global warming has arrived in our little corner of the planet. If it feels any better, I guess you might call it Great Lakes Warming. If it hasn't arrived quite yet, apparently it will be appearing at a shoreline near you soon. If you think it is cyclical with the ups and downs of temperature and lake levels, you are not alone. But the plethora of reports, not limited to the aforementioned, seem to forecast trouble.
Such trouble appears to double in light of the Thirsty Southwest. The Great Lakes hold 20% of the Earth's fresh water, or 95% of this country's surface freshwater, and states in the southwestern part of the United States want some of it. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson even made the notion of water sharing part of his stump speech in the early infighting in the presidential race. Whether or not the Thirsty Southwest is quenched by water from Lake Erie remains to be seen in the decades ahead. The possibility looms.
The double-trouble, or what Noah Hall from Wayne State University refers to as “a one-two punch,” is here to stay. The issues of global warming and water diversion are not going away. As global warming increases by degrees, so will problems in Lake Erie increase by degrees. As water diversion begins with a single drop, so too will the solutions to these issues begin by a single vote or act.
By STEVE PLOTTNER. Posted at 1:51 PM
Global warming, water diversion may become local issues on the peninsula
A decade ago at a Village of Marblehead council meeting, the Honorable Mayor Kathleen “Kay” Dziak presiding, a councilman asked to be heard. He suggested that Village Council draft a resolution that would put the council on record as opposing any water diversion from Lake Erie and the Great Lakes to the southern and western states. There were muffled snickers from the few visitors, and council listened politely, then the evening's agenda moved forward. There never was discussion and there never was a resolution. Most likely the moment wasn't captured in any minutes and has been long ago forgotten. The idea that a handful of elected public officials from a small Village could take any action that might have some effect on larger communities along the North Coast or make a statement that would serve as a sentinel seemed at the time to be far-fetched. So did the dire predictions of shallower water, higher water temperatures, lower oxygen levels in the water, bad fishing and, if those weren't horrific enough, water being diverted from Lake Erie to New Mexico.
But now it appears that things really are heating up. Of course, it's early January, and the temperature is above 60 degrees, but I am referring to the various reports being issued that forecast serious trouble for Lake Erie in the coming years.
A 315-page report, “State of the Strait: Status and Trends of Key Indicators 2007,” released within the last month, is the culmination of a three-year study of the Detroit River-western Lake Erie corridor. The editors of the report include members of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the University of Windsor, Environment Canada, the International Joint Commission and the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy. Funding sources included several of the aforementioned agencies as well as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The gist of the report: 75 scientists from nearly 50 government, business, academic and public-interest groups claimed Lake Erie could drop 3.28 feet to 6.56 feet of water by 2066.
A 41-page report published by The National Wildlife Foundation, with the support of Environmental Advocates of New York and five other environmental groups from across the Great Lakes states, appeared in late November. The report was written based on the findings of researchers at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the International Joint Commission, the federal government and independent researchers. The report explains the findings of scientists and puts them into an enviro-political context. The gist of the report: prepare for a new climate change reality. Higher average temperatures in the Great Lakes region by 2050 will cause a 4.5-foot drop in Lake Michigan and Lake Huron waters because evaporation will outpace rain and snow. Since Lake Huron feeds Lake Erie, the already warmest, shallowest, and most ecologically fragile part of the Great Lakes may be doomed. The report advises that higher lake temperatures likely would lead to more algae and less oxygen in the water, curtailing fish production and crimping tourism.
A 3-page report issued by the International Association for Great Lakes Research highlights problems caused by pollution, invasive species, contaminated sediments, loss of wetlands and shoreline habitat. The report does not make any direct references to climate change.
So you can take a big gulp with the 315-page report or a small drink with the 3-page report, but those who are in the know seem to be indicating that global warming has arrived in our little corner of the planet. If it feels any better, I guess you might call it Great Lakes Warming. If it hasn't arrived quite yet, apparently it will be appearing at a shoreline near you soon. If you think it is cyclical with the ups and downs of temperature and lake levels, you are not alone. But the plethora of reports, not limited to the aforementioned, seem to forecast trouble.
Such trouble appears to double in light of the Thirsty Southwest. The Great Lakes hold 20% of the Earth's fresh water, or 95% of this country's surface freshwater, and states in the southwestern part of the United States want some of it. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson even made the notion of water sharing part of his stump speech in the early infighting in the presidential race. Whether or not the Thirsty Southwest is quenched by water from Lake Erie remains to be seen in the decades ahead. The possibility looms.
The double-trouble, or what Noah Hall from Wayne State University refers to as “a one-two punch,” is here to stay. The issues of global warming and water diversion are not going away. As global warming increases by degrees, so will problems in Lake Erie increase by degrees. As water diversion begins with a single drop, so too will the solutions to these issues begin by a single vote or act.
By STEVE PLOTTNER. Posted at 1:51 PM
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