The Cholera epidemic in Chicago during the 1850s spurred a decades-long project to transform the city’s water and wastewater management, leading to the construction that reversed the Chicago River’s flow away from Lake Michigan. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210129-flashback
The slow start to winter has delayed the formation of ice balls on the shore of Lake Michigan. These slushy orbs form as lake temperatures drop and larger accumulations of ice form along the shores of the lakes. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210129-ice-ball
City planners in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, are moving forward on a plan to increase access to Lake Erie through the construction of a public waterfront trail near the town of Euclid. Read the full story by WKSU – Kent, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210129-cuyahoga
The city of Port Clinton, Ohio, is advancing toward the implementation of the long-awaited waterfront walkway along the Portage River and Lake Erie through downtown. Read the full story by the Fremont News Messenger.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210129-port-clinton
Grand Traverse County Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution on Thursday night to address PFAS contamination in East Bay Township in northern Michigan. Read the full story by WWTV-TV – Cadillac, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210129-grand-traverse
The Great Lakes currently have record low ice coverage. Ice coverage across all the lakes is 3.9%, compared with 11% at the same time last year. Read the full story by CNN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210122-no-ice
Since 1985, communities across the Great Lake region have come together to clean and restore heavily contaminated sites in 42 Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs). The U.S. and Canadian federal government have spent over $22.5 billion to bring back the ecosystems, to reinvigorate habitat and to clean up the sediment so that the fish and wildlife populations can survive. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210122-aoc
With the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Act of 2021, Great Lakes tribal fisheries were included in the $30 million allotted for tribal fisheries nationwide. Another $15 million was set aside for “non-tribal commercial, aquaculture, processor and charter fishery participants” in Great Lakes states. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210122-fisheries
Environmentalists would like to see President Biden reinstate stricter policies with a focus on water level regulations that protect the Great Lakes. Activists also hope addressing climate change remains one of President Biden’s top priorities. Read the full story by KQDS–TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210122-biden-env-policy
With a new administration committed to the environment and climate change, an increase in funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, and with Chicago’s history of innovation, the city has an opportunity to again be a leader in U.S. infrastructure and water management. Read the full story by Crain’s Chicago Business.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210122-chicago-water
The Great Lakes face numerous stressors that threaten the Lake Michigan’s ecology, including invasive species, climate change and nutrient pollution. Read the full story by Crain’s Chicago Business.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210122-stressors
A federal agency has awarded the University of Toledo’s Lake Erie Center nearly $80,000 to transform the Sandpiper cruise vessel into a floating laboratory to help area teachers provide more hands-on learning experiences along the Maumee River. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210122-sandpiper
Construction began this week on a project to restore the Boardman River in Traverse City, Michigan. The restoration project includes an innovative “adaptive fish sorting channel” that will allow desirable fish to move up- and downstream while restricting passage of invasive species. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210122-boardman
Hazardous PFAS chemicals linked to cancer have been found in the Yahara River and all five of surrounding lakes near Madison, Wisconsin. State officials have not warned against eating the fish until they confirm they are contaminated. Read the full story by the Wisconsin State Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210121-aquatic-species
Warm temperatures and low ice coverage on Lake Erie are limiting ice fishing opportunities this year for anglers in Erie, Pennsylvania. Read the full story by the Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210122-presque-isle
In a letter to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Enbridge Energy stated that it will not stop operations on its Line 5 oil pipeline despite Gov. Whitmer’s November revocation of the pipeline’s 67-year-old easement and her May deadline for the line’s closure. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210112-enbridge
Michigan’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund has hundreds of millions of dollars available in funding to support Michigan municipalities seeking to upgrade and repair their wastewater infrastructure. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210112-cwsrf
The U.S. Coast Guard wants to replace one of its oldest cutters on the Great Lakes but delays in funding and congressional appropriations mean that a replacement boat may be several years away. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210112-coast-guard-cutter
The U.S. Justice Department announced charges against a Flint, Michigan-based oil processing company for dumping leachate into Flint’s sewer system in violation of the company’s discharge permits. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210112-usjd-flint
Akron Council has given initial approval of a deal to allow horizontal drilling and fracking under 475 acres of public land at the La Due Reservoir, which is upstream from the city’s main drinking water supply along the Cuyahoga River. Read the full story by the Akron Beacon Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210112-akron
The Lake Erie Agriculture Demonstrating Sustainability (LEADS) initiative in Ontario announced $2.58 million in available funding for farmers to adopt environmental sustainability and water quality improvement practices in the Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair watersheds. Read the full story by CTV News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210112-leads-initiative
After cancelling Great Lakes cruises in 2020 and 2021, Viking Cruise Lines is offering booking for 2022 cruise voyages from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Thunder Bay, Ontario. Read the full story by Radio K102.5 Kalamazoo, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210112-cruises
The new law provides support for local communities facing rising water levels, coastal erosion, and flooding that have put homes, property, and communities at risk, and caused millions of dollars in damages. Read the full story by DredgeWire.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210112-peters-bill
With three lake freighters in for maintenance work, this will be the busiest winter in years for the Port Weller dry docks, according to officials at Heddle Shipyards, which has operated the dry docks for the past three years. Read the full story by the St. Catharines Standard.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210112-port-weller
The ship was originally used to launch and retrieve test torpedoes and targets before being decommissioned from the U.S. Navy in 1995. It was then transferred to the Naval Sea Cadet Corps and was renamed the United States Naval Sea Cadet Ship Grayfox in 1998 when it came to Port Huron. Read the full story by the Port Huron Times Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210112-black-river
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Wednesday signed into law a bill to put in place a structure to monitor and coordinate various programs designed to fight toxic algal growth in Lake Erie and problems in other Ohio waters. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210107-lake-erie-bill
Residents from Peshtigo, Wisconsin, have reached a $17.5 million settlement with Tyco Fire products and two other companies over widespread PFAS contamination to compensate residents to exposure to PFAS stemming from the use of firefighting foam in the area. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210107-peshtigo
The Canadian Coast Guard’s annual icebreaking season on the Great Lakes, which provides assistance to the shipping industry, is underway. Working in partnership with the United States Coast Guard (USCG) District 9, the Canadian Coast Guard has two icebreakers assigned to the Great Lakes for the entire winter season. Read the full story by Marine Log.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210107-ccg
An Ohio Department of Natural Resources program encourages farmers to take cropland out of production and establish conservation practices by offering farmers payments of $2,000 per acre for their actions. Read the full story by The Beacon.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210107-crep
For decades, researchers have been trying to bring back the arctic grayling to Michigan without success. Now, more than 50 collaborators think bringing back the arctic grayling has a shot at success. Read the full story by WUOM – Ann Arbor, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210107-first-nation-water
The 378-passenger ship is scheduled to debut in early 2022 and will spend its maiden season sailing itineraries to Antarctica and North America’s Great Lakes region. The ship will be followed by a sister, Viking Polaris, which will debut in summer 2022 and will offer voyages to the Arctic and Antarctic. Read the full story by Cruise Critic.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210107-cruise
The 2020 Duluth-Superior grain shipping season ended with the saltie Federal Oshima departing on Dec. 18 after loading at Duluth’s Riverland Ag facility. Its cargo included 26,070 short tons of North American spring wheat bound for Italy. Read the full story by Progressive Farmer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210107-duluth-harbor
The Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority reported the water levels in Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair remain will remain above average through January, and continue to cause flooding, erosion, and shoreline damage. Read the full story by CTV News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210107-le-water-levels
All five of the Great Lakes closed out 2020 at lower levels than they were a year ago. But according to new projections from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the upper lakes are still expected to remain high in 2021. Read the full story by Interlochen Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210107-lakemichigan-levels
The Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Source Protection Committee (SPC) in Ontario released a video that highlights how marine industries in Goderich, Ontario, help to protect the Great Lakes drinking water source in Goderich. Read the full story by the Goderich Signal-Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210106-arctic-grayling
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Hammond, Indiana, Mayor Tom McDermott Jr. laid out their proposals for delivering Lake Michigan water to Joliet, Illinois, in a special city council meeting. The city of Joliet must find a new water source by 2030, when their current water supply is expected to run dry. Read the full story by the Times Weekly.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201217-microplastic-pollution-plastic
National parks and public lands in the Great Lakes region, including Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota and Apostle Island National Lakeshore in Wisconsin, offer excellent winter outdoor opportunities as the COVID-19 pandemic restricts travel and gatherings. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201218-natl-parks
If the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline shuts down next spring, Michigan must find a new way to deliver propane to Upper Peninsula residents who use tens of millions of gallons from the pipeline annually to heat their homes. Read the full story by Bridge Magazine.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201218-line-5-propane
Michigan legislators on Wednesday finalized a plan to borrow $600 million to finance the state’s proposed settlement with the residents of Flint over the state’s role in the Flint Water Crisis. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201218-flint-water-settlement
International cargoes on the Great Lakes has rebounding as the shipping season draws to a close. Shipments of crops and wind turbine components to Great Lakes ports like the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor and the Port of Chicago stayed steady in November, while steel shipments picked up the pace. Read the full story by The Times of Northwest Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201218-shipping-up
Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin are seeking to restrict the ability of environmental regulators to regulate chemicals known as PFAS by rescinding parts of an emergency rule and limiting efforts to properly treat foam containing PFAS. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201218-wi-dnr-pfas
The National Park Service is spending $1.4 million to remove abandoned structures and roadbeds at Indiana Dunes National Park and restore natural area in the place of razed structures. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201218-indiana-dunes
Human remains likely dating back to prehistoric times were found at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore near Traverse City, Michigan. Read the full story by UpNorthLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201218-sleeping-bears
Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin seek to restrict the ability of environmental regulators to regulate chemicals known as PFAS by rescinding parts of an emergency rule and limiting efforts to properly treat foam containing PFAS. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201219-state-pfas
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced over $252,000 in Coastal Zone Grants to help protect and restore the Lake Erie coastal zone in northwest Pennsylvania. Many coastal zones along Lake Erie are under increased pressure from development, erosion, biodiversity loss and pollution. Read the full story by Erie News Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201217-microplastic-pollution-plastic
A Montreal-based company released a new dog food formula that includes Asian carp, an invasive species in both the United States and Canadian waterways. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201215-carp-kibble
Record high lake levels, flooded beaches, and endangered buildings along Lake Michigan are driving residents around the lake to take on projects big and small to try to hold back the water. Read and listen to the full story by Illinois Public Media.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201215-beaches
Legislation sponsored by Michigan Senators Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow would help shoreline communities address rising water levels and erosion by setting up funding mechanism to carry out mitigation projects and reduce natural disaster risk associated with high lake levels. Read the full story by the Huron Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201215-peters-bill
The International Joint Commission (IJC) has announced approval to deviate from the controversial Plan 2014, allowing for increased outflow from Lake Ontario’s waters through the Moses-Saunders dam on the St. Lawrence River to help avoid flooding on Lake Ontario shorelines. Read the full story by Rochester First.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201215-ijc
The Michigan DNR relocated a historic shelter building to keep it safe from eroding shoreline on Lake Michigan. The Orchard Beach State Park’s historic shelter building now sits a safe 230 feet back from the eroding Lake Michigan shoreline. Read the full story by Click-On Detroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201215-orchard-beach
