by Joe Milauckas 2009 LAKE MICHIGAN WATER LEVELS IN REVIEW Lake Michigan water levels rose 19 inches from January to the year's peak in July at 578.9 feet above sea level(IGLD 1985), a level 5 inches below long term average for July. The lake began the seasonal decline in August and ended up 5 inches below the December average. The normal seasonal rise of approximately one foot was again exceeded by more than 50% for the second consecutive year. This rise in levels started to show it's effect on the shoreline this summer. Fore dunes covered with dune grass have experienced significant erosion and beaches in general are considerably narrower, in some locations more than others. Several storm events have washed further up the protective beach closer to the base of the bluff. We knew levels were coming back up and they have. This provides the basis for support of the study recommendations reported in the next article. INTERNATIONAL UPPER GREAT LAKES STUDY (IUGLS) This 5 year multimillion dollar bi-national study of man's affect on the upper Great Lakes water levels relative to St. Clair River outflows and the Lake Superior Regulation Plan is at the halfway point. Both are of major concern to Lake Michigan shore property owners in that efforts to restrict flow out of the system through the St. Clair River and increasing flows out of Lake Superior at the wrong time will result in higher high levels on Lake Michigan. Phase I of the study examined the flows through the St.Clair River to determine if that was the cause of lower levels on Lakes Michigan/Huron over the last few years and whether structures should be installed in the river to restrict the flow for the purpose to raise the levels of Lakes Michigan/Huron. This portion of the study was originally promoted by residents in Canada that live in the Georgian Bay area. After a lengthy and detailed investigation, the Study Board concluded the flow/level relationship relating to the St. Clair River is mostly natural and recommended flow restrictions should NOT be installed. This recommendation now has been referred to the International Joint Commission (IJC)for a final decision. The DLSA will submit a letter to the IJC in support of this Study Board recommendation. Phase II of the study has started and concerns the "Development of Lake Superior Outflow Management Alternatives". The existing Lake Superior regulation "Plan 1977A" has resulted in illogical and damaging distributions of water into Lakes Michigan/Huron in the past. For example, during the high water level period of the mid 1980's flows through the St. Mary's River were increased substantially even though levels on Lake Michigan were nearly 2 feet above average and levels on Lake Superior were only inches above average! Hopefully, this study examination will result in a more equitable regulation/management plan for those of us on the Lake Michigan shoreline. LAKE KALAMAZOO DREDGING A century ago Lake Kalamazoo (LK) was just a wide spot in the Kalamazoo River with a small island formation in the middle. Then came the US 31(Blue Star) Highway project in the mid 1930's. In order for the highway to be constructed at an elevation high enough to allow boat traffic under the new bridge, massive amounts of sediment was dredged from the "wide spot" of the river and used for fill; a navigable lake was born or reborn. However, little by little sediment flowing down the river continued to accumulate in the lake to a point where water depth was inadequate for boat passage in many areas outside of the natural current driven channel. This natural process of the lake bottom coming up was magnified by lower than average lake levels over the last few years. The impact on boaters, marinas, and a significant segment of the area's tourism draw caused local governments to commission a study of the harbor and appoint a Harbor Committee (three members from each governmental unity)to implement the study recommendations. The study concluded dredging would be necessary and options included costs up to $40,000,000 to dredge the whole lake. The Harbor Committee along with consultants searched for sources of funding since a project of this magnitude could not be supported by only local funding. Although several funding sources were investigated, at the end of the year no federal or state funds have become available. The search for funding is complicated by the designation of the Kalamazoo River and Lake as a "Super Fund" site due to the PCB contaminants that have flowed down the river from the paper plants and now have settled into the bottom of the lake. The contaminants make the dredging more expensive and the Super Fund designation precludes the availability of most if not all federal funding sources. The responsible parties for causing the pollution/contamination are legally accountable for paying for the clean up, however that effort has started upstream(Battle Creek/Kalamazoo) at the source and no one knows when or if they will get this far down river. The search for funding goes on. |