Federal study of erosion link to lakes' water loss

[Hamilton Reef]

Miller seeks federal study of erosion link to lakes' water loss

http://www.freep.com/news/mich/lakes3e_20050303.htm
BY HUGH McDIARMID JR., FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER , March 3, 2005

Whether St. Clair River erosion has permanently lowered Great Lakes water levels is the question that could be answered by a $2.5-million federal study proposed Wednesday by U.S. Rep. Candice Miller, R-Harrison Township.

An engineering study commissioned by a homeowners group concluded earlier this year that lakes Michigan and Huron have permanently lost a foot of water since 1970. Ongoing erosion in the riverbed, caused in part by dredging shipping lanes and other manmade changes, has allowed more water to rush downstream, said W.F. Baird & Associates Coastal Engineers of Toronto.

The study cast doubt on the prevailing theory that recent low lakes levels are due solely to long-term fluctuations, which typically run in 30- to 40-year cycles.

The study estimated the lakes are losing the equivalent of one Lake St. Clair every year.

"It is as if someone has pulled the plug on the drain of our precious Great Lakes," Miller said. "If this theory of erosion in the St. Clair River is correct, what is happening currently dwarfs any concept of diversion we have ever imagined."

Miller's plan would add money for the study to the Water Resources Development Act reauthorization, which will be taken up by House committees this spring.

The proposed study would be conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers and the International Joint Commission, a binational group assisting U.S. and Canadian governments in managing boundary waters.

The Army Corps has "significant technical concerns" with the Baird study, says a response released by the agency in February.

The corps' response suggests that Baird did not adequately consider the effect of glacial rebound, whereby the bottoms of the Great Lakes rise 7 to 12 inches a century as they spring back from the weight of glaciers that receded 11,000 years ago.

"This has an impact on where the current water level meets the shoreline," the corps responded. "As the Earth's crust is rising, the water level appears to be receding, when in fact it may not be."

Contact HUGH McDIARMID JR. at 248-351-3295 or mcdiarmid@freepress.com.

[Hamilton Reef]

Dredging is a drain on the lakes, study says

http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/oct05/367065.asp

By DAN EGAN degan@journalsentinel.com Posted: Oct. 31, 2005

Great Lakes governors, famous for hoarding almost every drop of the world's largest freshwater system, are pushing for a tighter water-diversion law they hope will serve as a deadbolt when thirsty outsiders start banging on the door.

Perhaps they should pull their eyes off the peephole and take a look behind them to see what might already be going down their own drain.

An engineering study funded by a group of Canadian lakefront property owners this year claims a 1962 Army Corps of Engineers dredging project, done in conjunction with St. Lawrence Seaway construction, essentially pulled the plug on Lakes Michigan and Huron, sending an average of nearly 1 billion gallons a day out to sea.

The corps is taking the study seriously, though it isn't willing to concede that its dredging project to allow oceangoing ships to use the St. Clair River has done the damage the property owners claim. The St. Clair River is part of the waterway that links Lake Huron to Lake Erie.

"There is something going on in the system that definitely needs to be looked at," Scott Thieme, chief of the corps' Great Lakes office for hydraulics and hydrology, told a group of Lake Michigan sport and commercial fishermen at a meeting in Manitowoc County this summer.

The homeowners' study, conducted by the respected firm of Baird & Associates Coastal Engineers, claims that the dredging project, combined with earlier dredging and riverbed sand-mining operations in the late 1800s, has led to a total drop of about 30 inches in the long-term average levels of Lakes Huron and Michigan - an amount of water equal to about one-quarter the volume of Lake Erie.

At the time of the '62 dredging, the corps predicted a drop of about 16 inches, but the Baird study claims that a faster flowing St. Clair River has led to ongoing erosion on the river bottom, and the loss of about another foot of water.

"That is not something that should happen," says Rob Nairn, author of the study, who likens the situation to an ever-growing drain at the bottom of a bathtub. "We've got something alarming going on here."

The homeowners who funded the $200,000 Baird study are eager to see the issue studied further, and Michigan Congresswoman Candice Miller is seeking $2.5 million to do further studies to figure out exactly what is going on.

If the Baird findings do hold up, possible solutions to the problem include dumping rocks in the eroding portions of the river channel. But Thieme said that likely will require extensive studies.

"It would take, I would assume, quite a few years to actually get something like that in place," he says.

The situation has caught the attention of people who live outside the Great Lakes basin but are eyeing Great Lakes water.

The City of Waukesha, for example, desperately needs to find a new source of drinking water for its 70,000 residents. Like several other southeastern Wisconsin communities, its wells are plagued with high levels of potentially cancer-causing radium.

Lake Michigan would be an obvious answer for a community that consumes about 7 million gallons per day, but the city lies just beyond the Great Lakes basin.

And as the law currently works, communities outside the basin are prohibited from taking Great Lakes water unless they get unanimous approval from all eight Great Lakes governors, something that rarely happens.

The governors are reworking those laws and could approve a new rule that would allow communities to tap the Great Lakes, provided they ship their treated wastewater back. Because of the expense involved in moving water, the idea is that the new law would make it prohibitively expense for far-away communities to access the lakes.

But that law could still be years away.

Waukesha and its neighbors have a problem right now.

And right now the Baird study claims the lakes are losing an average of about 845 million gallons a day.

"It puts things in perspective," says Waukesha water utility general manager Dan Duchniak. "We're talking about a public health issue."

[pikeslime]

Thanks for posting. We all need to be aware of this issue.

[waterfoul]

You come up with some of the most intesting articles Hamilton Reef. I always enjoy reading them. But, I saw that one about the Grand River noise and no-wake issues before you did! LOL!!! I posted it on offshoreonly.com the day before you posted it here. I have several friends with offshore boats that live on the river and I thought they'd find it interesting.

[Hamilton Reef]

Waterfowl beat me? Careful there as you may be assigned special assistant and daily job duties.

[waterfoul]

I have enough to do here to keep me busy...

And that's waterfoUl... with a U not a W.... It's the name of my big boat. I ain't no duck hunter!! LOL!!

[Hamilton Reef]

Dropping lake levels raise concerns

Of all the Great Lakes, only Ontario's waters have been high enough not to interfere with boating or shipping. The year in review.

http://www.greatlakesdirectory.org/on/122605_great_lakes.htm

[Hamilton Reef]

Feds must get busy mapping river changes

Continued guessing about falling Lake Huron is not good enough.

Thirteen months ago, Congresswoman Candice Miller called for a study to determine whether changes to the St. Clair River have resulted in a permanent lowering of Lake Huron. That study is overdue.

http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060415/OPINION01/604150321/1014/OPINION

[Hamilton Reef]

Troubles grow as area lake levels fall
Neighbors, businesses suffer as some waters remain low

Michigan's boaters and beachgoers have suffered through another summer of shallow water, green slime and thick marshes that have overtaken beaches.

From Drummond Island to St. Clair Shores, those who live along the water or depend on it for business have tales of woe.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006608270595

[Hamilton Reef]

Dredging causes huge Great Lakes water loss, report says

http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/news-46/1187110820223450.xml&storylist=newsmichigan

08/14/07 By JOHN FLESHER

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A "drain hole" in the St. Clair River caused by dredging and other commercial projects is costing Lakes Huron and Michigan a combined 2.5 billion gallons of water each day, according to a Canadian study released Tuesday.

That exceeds the amount diverted from Lake Michigan to provide Chicago's daily water supply, the Georgian Bay Association said. The group based its findings on water level data compiled by U.S. government agencies.

The association first reported on water losses from Lake St. Clair dredging in 2005. But the latest report says the volume flowing south from Lakes Michigan and Huron — which are hydrologically connected — is three times greater than originally believed.

"This new report reveals that the problem is far more serious than first thought and underscores the need to fix the problem immediately," Mary Muter, chairwoman of the association's Environment Committee, said in a statement.


The drainage hole has caused an overall water level decline of nearly 2 feet since 1970, the study said. The outflow goes into Lake Erie, then east to Lake Ontario and eventually through the St. Lawrence River to the Atlantic Ocean.

[Michigander1]

I heard somewhere that the goverment will grat you funds if you live on the water to stop erosion.Not sure if this is true ?,Michigander

[mrymar]

Think the water is low now?? Wait till this happens.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070801/NEWS06/708010369&imw=Y (http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070801/NEWS06/708010369&imw=Y)


Most the things in there are good things. But I am totally against dredging the channels.
"Another key provision authorizes the Corps to step up navigational dredging throughout the lakes, a process some critics say has fallen off dramatically.
Low water levels and a backlog of dredging projects have resulted in Great Lakes ships being forced to travel lighter, reducing how much money they make for moving goods, shipping industry officials say.
"It's critically important to us," said Glen Nekvasil, vice president of the Lake Carriers Association, an industry group based in Cleveland. "The dredging of the lakes has been underfunded for decades." Also helping shippers would be the authorization of a new lock at Sault Ste. Marie -- a $342-million, 1,200-foot-long backup to the Poe lock, which is the only one big enough to handle much of the U.S.-based freighter fleet operating in the Great Lakes. If the current lock, located where Lake Superior connects with the lower Great Lakes, failed, "the U.S. fleet would basically go to anchor," Nekvasil said."



I know there is a need for funding the dredging of several of the harbor mouths that get sanded in over the winter. But I am pretty sure there is a dredger right now in the South Channel at the head of Seaway Island that is no good in my opinion.

[Blaketrout]

"As the Earth's crust is rising, the water level appears to be receding, when in fact it may not be."

Is this guy for real??? That has to be the lamest explanation I've ever heard. If this guy is right in about 20 years we'll be a mountain range! :rolleyes:

[Hamilton Reef]

Erosion ruled out in river
TORONTO -- The first results from underwater video studies of 30 miles of the St. Clair River show no evidence that the riverbed is eroding and contributing to low water levels on Lakes Huron and Michigan, researchers said Thursday.
Bommanna Krishnappan, research scientist with Canada's National Water Research Institute, said pictures show that the riverbed has a layer of coarse gravel pieces, pebbles and stones that range in size from one-sixth of an inch to nearly 10 inches in diameter.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071102/NEWS05/711020363/1001/NEWS

ALSO:

St. Clair River erosion doubted
Cameras show bedrock in river, which might indicate other causes for lower Great Lakes levels.
Dragging a camera behind a boat for 30 miles of the river from the Blue Water Bridge to Lake St. Clair, researchers compiling the International Upper Great Lakes Study say they could see that the riverbed is "vaulted" by bedrock and rocks. It is their preliminary opinion that, as a result, no erosion can occur.
But even scientists working on the study -- which is not to be completed until 2009 -- say that while the continuing-erosion theory may not hold water, there is some possibility that all of the erosion may have already occurred, leaving only bedrock and rocks after sand and other sediment have been conveyed.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071102/METRO/711020365

[eyecatcher]

The biggest prblem which the state and federal government would like everyone to overlook is the thousands of acres of cattail marsh that has been dredged and filled to build housing and commercial buildings along the lake shore's. Lake St clair is a freshwater delta when you eleminate the holding and filtering power of the cattails, which they are for in the first place, The total ecosystem is altered. The ability to slow the flow of water is reduced drastically.the lake shore was mostly cattail marsh. the corp of engineers has the ability to slow the flow of the niagara river by as much as fifth percent. They would rather build new and more projects costing us more tax dollars. If the shippers need deeper channels they should pay for them or go back to the 28 foot draft. they are the people doing the most damage to the lakes. they fight clean the bilges before entering the lake system. because of th cost, They are the one introducing all the exotics. look at what that has cost us.

[Hamilton Reef]

How to slow St. Clair flow still in question
$15-million study may never answer debate over dredging

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080220/NEWS06/802200427/1008/news06

02/20/08 By TINA LAM • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER 313-222-6421 or tlam@freepress.com.

Leaders of a $15-million study of lake levels in the upper Great Lakes -- Superior, Michigan, Huron -- and St. Clair said they're not yet sure whether the St. Clair River might need gates or weirs to halt its flow.

Eugene Stakhiv, one of the coleaders of the study, said laying data that show recent low levels on the lakes on top of historical data of low lake levels just before the Dust Bowl in the 1920s and 1930s, shows that the patterns are similar.

What is different, Stakhiv said, is that evaporation and lack of ice on the lakes in winter are major contributors to the current low levels, while the historic lows mostly were due to a lack of precipitation.

About 80 people at a presentation in Grosse Pointe Farms on Tuesday night heard that the study won't be complete until June 2009.

Even then, it still may not fully answer questions about whether low lake levels are caused by past dredging of the St. Clair River, as a Canadian homeowners group alleges, or what to do about it.

So far, data show the river is not eroding, which casts doubt on the theory.

But some of those in the audience said they're worried about the lows.

Phillip Wehrmeister of Grosse Pointe Park said he has a boat on Lake St. Clair.

"I want to know what they're going to do," he said. "Lake St. Clair is way far down."

Others, such as Mike Simmons of Clinton Township, said they're concerned that some water may be being illegally diverted from the lakes.

The study leaders said they do not believe there are any such diversions.

Legislation pending in the state Legislature, which all eight Great Lakes states have agreed to, would ban any future diversion from the lakes to other states.

"We must get that passed," said Kay Felt, a member of the public interest advisory group for the study and a resident of Grosse Pointe Shores.

[winchester]

If the st clair river is flowing with that much more volume, why is lake st clair still low. It should be higher with the increased flow of water from the river

[Hamilton Reef]

If the st clair river is flowing with that much more volume, why is lake st clair still low. It should be higher with the increased flow of water from the river.

LSC is like a wide bulge in the river flow between Lake Huron and Lake Erie. The Detroit River is large enough to handle the extra current flow. Lake Erie is holding up on average higher than the upper Great Lakes.

[neversunk]

Troubles grow as area lake levels fall
Neighbors, businesses suffer as some waters remain low

Michigan's boaters and beachgoers have suffered through another summer of shallow water, green slime and thick marshes that have overtaken beaches.

From Drummond Island to St. Clair Shores, those who live along the water or depend on it for business have tales of woe.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006608270595

The green slime is unbelieveable now! I found it to be covering the bottom foot of Lake St Clair on the sand flats nort of the North Channel after labor day. The water depth was only 2 ft....and the green slime was so thick that it was bogging down my trolling motor. And this was in a large sandy area adjacent to the high current of the North Channel. It looked like I had been pouring green paint into the wash of my trolling motor. And yet...you could'nt even tell it was there when looking ahead of the boat. Downright scarey....how can our fish survive this? I found it 5 years ago in the bottom of my canal while diving for a friends glasses that he had dropped in and was not surprised about finding it there. But to find it in shallow sandy flats next to high current areas was a shock. We need some answers about what other interests are doing to our lakes, and a loud voice that will protect them from being exploited.

[neversunk]

If you want to make Lake St. Clair deeper you would have to put a restriction in the outflow to Lake Erie. And that would in effect drop the levels of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. So why waste the money on a study of the effects of past dredging on the St. Clair River unless you're worried about trying to raise the water level of Lake Huron?
It would seem more likely that the water level of Lake St. Clair was affected more severely by the dredging of the shipping channel across the middle of the lake to the Detroit River, and the past dredging of the Detroit River all the way to Lake Erie.

Bigger drain size=more volume draining from a basin......

[KEITH207]

All the water levels in the great lakes are directly affected by the amount of snow/rain fall on the north shore of Lake Superior. If no snow/rain falls then the lake levels fall. The last several years have been very dry on the north shore of Superior.

Remember in the 1800’s Lake St Clair’s shore line was a ½ mile farther out from shore than it is now. There is an old church cemetery off the 400 club that is 6 feet under water.

It’s just a cycle, the lake levels will come back up and we’ll all be complaining of flooding again.