Lake Superior sets record for low water

[Richard]

By JOHN FLESHER, Associated Press

Drought and mild temperatures have pushed Lake Superior's water level to its lowest point on record for this time of year, continuing a downward spiral across the Great Lakes.

Preliminary data show Superior's average water level in September dipped 1.6 inches beneath the previous low for that month reached in 1926, Cynthia Sellinger, deputy director of NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, said Sunday.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which uses a different measuring technique, calculated the September level at 4 inches below the record, said Scott Thieme, chief of hydraulics and hydrology for the Detroit district office.

It's the first time in 81 years that the biggest and deepest of the lakes has reached a new monthly low, Sellinger said. The Army Corps recorded Superior as also setting a record by a half-inch in August. But the NOAA lab had the lake at slightly above its record level then.

Either way, the lake has plummeted over the past year and has dipped beneath its long-term average level for a decade — the longest such period in its known history.

"I've been here since 1959 and this is the lowest I've seen it," said Joel Johnson, owner of Lakehead Boat Basin in Duluth, Minn.

Some areas had so little water last spring and summer that recreational boats couldn't reach docking slips, although other marina operators managed to operate normally.

Commercial shippers, who haul iron ore and coal across the lakes to manufacturing centers such as Detroit, have been unable to fill cargo holds to capacity for fear of scraping bottom in shallow channels.

"Light loading has been just creaming the industry this year," said Glen Nekvasil, spokesman for the Lake Carriers Association.

All the Great Lakes, which together make up about 20 percent of the world's fresh surface water, have been in decline since the late 1990s.

Lakes Huron and Michigan are about 2 feet below their long-term average levels, while Lake Superior is about 20 inches off. Lake Ontario is about 7 inches below its long-term average and Lake Erie is a few inches down.

The NOAA lab bases its statistics on measurements taken by a gauge near Marquette. The Army Corps averages the numbers from several gauges around the lake.

Levels typically fluctuate through the year. Superior, a feeder for the other lakes, rises in spring and summer as melted snow flows into its headwaters, then recedes in fall and winter.

But precipitation is well below normal in the Lake Superior watershed, and unusually mild winters have reduced the winter ice cap, boosting evaporation.

The region got some badly needed rain in September — up to 5 inches in some places.

Bill Duckwall, a fishing and boating outfitter in Marquette, said the big lake seemed a bit higher lately.

"I think it's definitely coming back a little bit," he said.

But with Superior at its all-time low point for the beginning of fall — when the lake usually begins its annual drop-off — prospects for quick improvement wouldn't seem good.

Scientists point to a number of possible causes for the low water, including historical cycles, weather patterns and global warming.

"Is this going to continue? That's the big question and we don't know," Sellinger said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071001/ap_o...CvwacDW7oF

[Polly]

This reminds me of the earlier predictions that the Great Lakes would drain.  It remains to be seen if they truly do.

[Sily]

Cayce said the lakes would drain.  icon_glassball

[Astrojewels]

This is how our drought began, and even though it may seem the dropped level is very minor, it has major impact on the eco system of that lake and all the water ways that feed into it. This is the first sign to indicate the usage needs to be restructured, who and what has access to the great lakes? This could be a tragic disaster for nature in that area.

[Mercy Now]

I strongly feel that the American public needs to pay very close attention to the water situation in this country on many levels. I feel that good quality water is being siphoned to be placed in elite areas or areas in which the elite know they will cultivate as their own. I feel this is what is happening in Australia as well.The weather is also being manpulated behind the scenes to the advantage of the elite and this includes rainfall.

 Also check into who owns your local water company . You may be surprised. I feel we can nip this activity in the bud if more people begin asking questions noticing patterns.

 

Water is the next oil.

[Astrojewels]

Well said MN,
We were very ignorant as a nation to what was really going on, and I still say that the agenda was to replace good quality water with recycled, which is in every major city in Australia now, except Tasmania. People are drinking sewage, and they still blame the drought, the drought was a creation of many things, partly a natural cycle to Australian weather patterns, but it was technologically pushed to make it a disaster.
I don’t know how many will hear your call, because it will be a classic case that you don’t miss it till it’s gone! But I also must add how the mentality of the Australian people overcome this disaster (and most still do not know the truth) yet the blessing in disguise is how we now respect water, most homes have rain water tanks, recycle the gray water for the garden, and I would be bold to say that we would be the most water conservative nation on the planet now.
So the challenge is to look at it as a threat or a wake up call, how many of you leave your hose running, or wash the concrete driveway, and how many have actually measured how much you use in a week? That is where you begin and then start to reduce.
If a small group begins what MN asks, it will grow and you will all change the outcome.