"...Water, water, every where and all the boards did shrink;..." So begins the albatross's revenge in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. The Great Lakes climate is changing. Great Lakes levels have dropped almost two feet, the State of Michigan issued an Emergency No Burn order on August 16, 2007, which is still in effect because of continued drought, most of the Michigans Hardiness Zones changed up one from the 1990's,

and lake water temperatures are increasing further lowering levels. There may actually be a time in the future where commercial ships cannot transport goods from Duluth and Marquette to the rest of the world. Niagra Falls may become just a trickle.

The five Great Lakes, Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior (that's H.O.M.E.S. for those that weren't paying attention in school) contain approximately 20 percent of the worlds coveted fresh water. Yet, in the SooToday for September 1, 2007 was an article, Lowest-ever August for Lake Superior, they refer to a news release from the International Lake Superior Board of Control, under authority of the International Joint Commission where;

"It is estimated that a new record low monthly mean level will be set for August at 183.01 m (600.43 feet) (the previous record low August level was 183.02 m (600.46 feet) set in 1926)...Note that this is not an all-time record low (which is 182.72 m set in April 1926; approximately 28 cm (11 inches) almost a foot lower than the current level)....Also, the estimated beginning-of-September level of 183.00 m (600.39 feet) is also a new record (the previous record was 183.06 m (600.59 feet), also set in 1926)."

If my math is correct, this flow comes to 10.52 million gallons per second which is divided between the St Mary's River rapids, Soo Locks, and Edison Sault Hydro Power Plant. This water flows to the remaining Lakes and out the St Lawrence Seaway and the Chicago River. A Public Meeting is set for September 7, 2007 at Lake Superior State University from 7-9 pm to discuss the operation of the Board, current and forecast water levels, and, to receive public input about local concerns related to water levels and flows of Lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron.

With our climate changing, Lake levels have steadily decreased since their high level in 1986. Along with this decrease, has been an increase in the average temperature of land and water. According to a paper on Lake Superior water temperature by Jay H Austin and Steven M Colman in the American Geophysical Union (AGU), which I'll paraphrase and convert to English units, [ temperatures have increased an average of 4.5 degrees F since the 70's compared to an increase of 2.7 degrees F in air temperature. ] No Michigan is not alone in climate change. In fact, we are not alone in drought. The photo to the right from the website http://drought.unl.edu is the latest Drought Map for the US. In addition to the southwestern states, a wide area in the southeast has been affected.

This Climate Change pamphlet from Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore indicated the Upper Peninsula's growing season increased one-half day per year due to climate change.  So an average summer growing season lasts up to 12 days longer since the 70's. That means the lake has more time to warm up in response to the warmer air. Pictured Rocks weather information can be found under Climate. I will give the National Parks Service kudos. They indicate only one pamphlet per family. All pamphlets are available online.

What does this mean for the average citizen? The two main conspiracy theories, that water is being secretly diverted from the lake to places such as the thirsty West and the Army Corp of Engineers dug too deep at the mouth of St. Clair River in the 60's have diverted our attention away from personal responsibility.

Global warming change means wider swings in the climate. In the short term, boaters will have to be more vigilant in shallow water and rocky areas. Another AR member, Mary Bigalow can share her experiences after getting sand in their boats cooling system. A few weeks ago, I was able to walk out more than 100 yards from shore and the water was only up to my shoulders.  There were exposed sand bars visible at the mouth of the Tahquamenon River, people were swimming below Lower Tahquamenon Falls (something I don't recommend) because of the lack of rain.

But, Environment Canada officials have been warning; "...Boaters on these [Great] lakes and throughout the entire system should exercise caution especially during periods of strong winds when localized water levels can rise or fall significantly relative to the pre-storm level in a very short period of time." They've been warning Canadian boaters since October of 2000.

Plunging lake levels make local marinas and boat launches useless. Here are photos of boat launches at Porcupine Mountain State Park and Brimley State Park. Larger boats cannot launch at either location, in fact Brimley's launch ends more than 20 feet from the waters end. Chippewa County marina operators are begging the Army Corp of Engineers to dredge their harbors.

Some fish species including yellow perch are leaving normal spawning areas early because of warm water. There is a potential of increased pollution as wave action uncovers buried wastes. Increased sediment levels in the water increases the warming effects of the sun. This is one reason to swim in Lake Superior when onshore (blowing towards shore) winds push warm surface water to the shore.

The September 2, 2007 Marquette Mining Journal had this quote ""If the drought continues, they're going to have a problem," said Steve Scott, Lake Superior Basin Coordinator with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources in Newberry. "It's going to be probably traumatic."" when referring to spring and fall fish spawning.

The five Great Lakes States are monitoring and working on water conservation, including stopping additional removal of water from the Great Lake's basin drainage area.

• Removal of Bottled Water from Companies located within the Great Lakes Basin
  
• Enforcing Water restrictions in Wisconsin before communities can withdraw from Lake Michigan
  
• Planting Water Efficient Lawns and Gardens
  
• Determine your water use with this Water Use Calculator 
  
• Getting Kids involved through Project Wet 
  
• SavingWater.org
  
• Read Mary Bigalow's blog about attempts to protect Lake Michigan

If you have additional water saving techniques that are used in your area, please feel free to place a link in the comment section below. Spam will be removed.

Looking for more information about the environment?  Eco All-Stars group may be for you.

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