Environmental Defence Canada hosted the seventh annual #WeAreLakeErie Day, a call to action on social media for Ontarians to do what they can to protect Lake Erie and its water. Read the full story by News Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230818-lake-erie-day
It’s summer in Michigan and people flocking to lakes and other bodies of water around the state may see something they didn’t know we had – jellyfish. Read the full story by WXYZ-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230818-jellyfish
On Wednesday night, Defense Department officials announced plans to install two new groundwater treatment systems near the Wurtsmith base, which borders the community of Oscoda, Michigan near Lake Huron. The systems will be installed at two locations with the intent of reducing the spread of an underground PFAS plume. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230818-pfas-cleanup
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average surface water temperature of the Great Lakes is rising. Over the past couple of years, Lake Superior’s warmer temperatures on the surface have also increased harmful algal blooms. Read the full story by WDIO-TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230818-algal-blooms
Port officials expected it would cost about $30 million to develop a state-of-the-art port facility with convenient access to rail and interstate highways on the former Pulliam Power Plant site. A newly received engineering cost estimate put the price tag above $48.7 million. The cost increase was attributed to increases in labor and material costs. Read the full story by the Green Bay Press Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230818-port-of-green-bay
The Environmental Protection Agency is drafting the fourth iteration of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Action Plan. The agency is seeking public input on the new plan, designed to strategically target the biggest threats to the Great Lakes ecosystem. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230816-epa-plan
Thanks to a new deep water research program, the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians in Michigan is working to maintain the population of chub fish and learn more about the invasive species that affect local fish populations. Read the full story by the Sault News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230816-tribal-research
Icebreaker, a proposed demonstration wind farm in Lake Erie, would be North America’s first ever freshwater offshore wind project. However, locals are expressing concerns over wildlife and potential oil leaks. Read the full story by The Guardian.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230816-wind-farm
Shipping on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway is continuing its long-term downturn, and changes in the region’s steel industry are largely responsible for the trend, according to a recent Congressional Research Service report. Read the full story by the Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230816-shipping-decline
A pumped hydroelectric storage facility on Lake Michigan was built more than 50 years ago to help absorb nuclear energy during overnight hours when customer demand for electricity was low. Now, the facility generates additional electricity for Michigan’s power grid via a system of turbines pumping water out of and into the lake. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230816-water-battery
Launched from Erie, Pennsylvania, by the U.S. Geological Survey last month, an unmanned Saildrone is crossing Lake Erie this summer to study fish populations. Read the full story by WBEN – Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230816-saildrone
Cruise ships docking in Wisconsin ports of call are providing new waves of tourists and a welcome post-COVID boost to the local economy. Read the full story by the Wisconsin State Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230816-wisconsin-cruises
While Lake Erie’s water level remains above average, it was expected to resume its seasonal decline in August and is projected to go down 5 inches by mid-September. Even though the lake didn’t reach record highs in 2023, any kind of decline that takes levels closer to average can be beneficial for lakeshore property owners. Read the full story by the Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230816-erie-decline
The ongoing drought that has plagued Wisconsin over the last couple of months has had little to no impact on the water levels on Lake Michigan and Lake Superior as the lake levels remain above long-term averages. Read the full story by Spectrum News 1 – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230816-drought-lakes
Climate change is influencing changes to Lake Erie’s water levels, ice cover, and water temperatures, all of which have an impact on the breeding conditions and habitat for walleye. This uncertainty in the future of the walleye population could cause issues for towns which rely on fishing for the local economy. Read the full story by WKSU – Kent, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230816-walleye
Michigan will spend more than half a million dollars on a slate of projects meant to support the state’s transition to renewable energy — for boats. Six companies will receive a total of $506,000 as part of a new grant program aimed at decarbonizing the region’s maritime industry. The first round of projects will develop electric boats, deploy solar-powered vessels and install charging stations. Read the full story by Interlochen Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230814-chargingstations-electricboats-michiganmarinas
There is a project in the works to install a “gantlet” system in the Des Plaines River at Brandon Road Lock and Dam near Joliet to stop silver and bighead carp from reaching the Great Lakes. The $1.14 billion project is funded by the federal government and the states of Illinois and Michigan. Although the cost estimate has increased and progress has been slow, the project is in the last stages of design as Illinois prepares to sign an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin construction. Read the full story by The Pantagraph.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230814-scientists-invasivecarp-creativestrategies-protectlakemichigan
Port Colborne could enable an all-season Lake Erie shipping option when the St. Lawrence Seaway system’s locks are not operating, says a study from Fluid Intelligence. The study looks at the potential advantages of short-sea shipping services between southern Ontario and the U.S. Great Lakes region and was released in May. Read the full story by the Welland Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230814-portcolborne-shortseashipping-lakeerie
Volunteers came together Sunday morning to help clean up trash at International Park located in Toledo, OH. The effort was put on by a group whose goal is to protect and preserve our Great Lakes. Sunday was the fourth stop on the Ultimate Great Lakes Cleanup Road Trip where organizers and volunteers are beautifying each of the Great Lakes in just one week. The first step in helping Lake Erie is to clean up the Maumee River. Read the full story by WTVG-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230814-greatlakes-greatresponsibility-cleanup
The state is recommending that Michigan residents lower how much smelt they eat from some local bodies of water. New guidelines for smelt consumption were included in the state health department’s 2023 Eat Safe Fish Guides, with the agency saying people should limit their smelt consumption to just one serving per month for fish from Lake Michigan, as well as Portage Lake in Houghton County. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230814-smelt-michigan-lakes-guidelines
For decades, scientists have been drawn like magnets to a cluster of remote islands thirty-some miles out into northern Lake Michigan, halfway between Michigan’s Upper and Lower peninsulas. The islands in the Beaver Island archipelago are a hub for scientific research about Great Lakes water quality, microplastics pollution, wetlands monitoring, and more. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230814-wetlands-waterquality-beaverisland
Some Chicago swimmers took on a challenge in the name of a good cause on Saturday. They have been swimming in Lake Michigan to raise money for cancer research. Read the full story by WLS-TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230814-swimacrossamerica-lakemichigan
Swimmers and some boaters are being warned to stay out of parts of Lake Erie on Monday. A Beach Hazard Statement has been issued for swimmers in Erie, Lucas, and Ottawa Counties beginning in the afternoon on Monday, August 14. The warning then goes into effect for Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Lake, and Lorain Counties later in the evening. According to the alert, wind and wave action could make for a high risk of rip currents. Read the full story by WJW-TV – Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230814-lakeerie-weatheralert
An opportunity to learn about shipwrecks and underwater photography is coming up on Thursday at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center in Alpena. As part of the Sanctuary Lecture Series, renowned underwater photographer and author Chris Roxburgh will host a free presentation, Exploring Shipwrecks of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230814-shipwrecks-thunderbay-explore
Did you hear about the Michigan man who crossed Lake Michigan in a bathtub (sitting backwards, no less) because of a $5 bet? Well, the 54-year anniversary of his voyage was this week. Read the full story by WDIV-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230814-lakemi-crossedlake-bathtub
Toledo-Lucas County, Ohio, Health Department officials announced Wednesday that the public should avoid all contact with water at Maumee Bay State Park due to cyanotoxin levels caused by the Lake Erie Algal Bloom. The public is not permitted to swim at Lake Erie Beach at the park and pets should be kept away from the water. Read the full story by WTOL-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230811-algal-bloom
Major upgrades are underway in Macomb County, Michigan, to prevent sewage overflows from ending up in Lake St. Clair and prepare for heavy rain events in the future. Read the full story by WJBK-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230811-sewer-funding
Shipping on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway is continuing its long-term downturn, and changes in the region’s steel industry are largely responsible for the trend, according to a recent Congressional Research Service report. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230811-shipping-trends
The latest twice-a-year check of Flint’s water pipes by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) shows lead levels in its water dropped slightly during the first six months of this year, which follows a steady pattern of improvement. Flint is close to reaching a goal of replacing all lead service lines, as 95% of Flint residences have had their lead lines replaced. Read the full story by WKAR – East Lansing, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230811-lead-levels
The U.S. Coast Guard announced on Thursday that original estimates of the amount of diesel fuel that spilled into Lake Michigan from the damaged Manitowoc were too high. The cause of the hull breach that led to the spill and the exact amount of spillage continues to be investigated. Read the full story by the Traverse City Record-Eagle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230811-spill-investigation
The Great Lakes region is getting about $2.8 million from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office for Coastal management. The money can be used to assess a community’s vulnerabilities, buy land to be a coastal buffer, and preserve or restore wetlands. Read the full story by WUOM – Ann Arbor, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230811-resiliency-funding
All of the Great Lakes’ water levels are higher than their long-term average, but the forecast shows the lakes are getting ready to start lowering as we head into fall, fitting into the annual cycle of rising and falling water levels. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230811-water-levels
In Saginaw Bay, Michigan, the Saginaw Bay Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area is conducting an ongoing project to restore habitats that have been degraded by phragmites, an invasive species from Europe. It grows along shores and in places where water gathers or the ground is wet and can cause problems for native animals, other plants, and people. Read the full story by the Huron Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230811-phragmites-project
Lake Superior is historically home to some of the largest shipping enterprises North America has ever seen. Michael Schumacher’s new book, “Too Much Sea For Their Decks,” is full of short sea-stories and shipwrecks along Minnesota’s North Shore and Island Royale. Read and listen to the full story by Minnesota Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230811-shipwreck-book
Scientists with the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa have, for 20 years, been traveling to the uninhabited High Island in northern Lake Michigan to monitor endangered piping plovers as they nest and fledge their chicks. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230811-plover-monitoring
Shipping on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway is continuing its long-term downturn, due to changes in the region’s steel industry, according to a recent Congressional Research Service report. Read the full story by Capital News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230810-shipping-study
Shipping on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway is continuing its long-term downturn, due to changes in the region’s steel industry, according to a recent Congressional Research Service report. Read the full story by Capital News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230810-shipping-study
construction by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of a stone breakwater in the abandoned shipping slip adjacent to Wilkeson Pointe is scheduled to begin in the fall and should be completed by November. Read the full story by The Buffalo News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230809-shoreline-enhancement
Most major Ohio rivers meeting water quality standards despite algal blooms, EPA reports. Read the full story by The Columbus Dispatch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230809-water-quality
A recently released report commissioned by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection calls the Erie Coke Site “…a potential threat to human health and the environment.” Read the full story by Erie News Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230809-pollution
In June, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers promoted what the agency hopes will be a new strategy to control European frog-bit, an invasive aquatic plant. The agency offered researchers a $200,000 grant to develop a biological control for European frog-bit and its relative, water soldier. Read the full story by Michigan Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230809-frogbit
A date has been set for a Holland man to swim across Lake Michigan. Read the full story by WWMT -TV – Kalamazoo, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230809-lake-michigan
The Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Lighthouse has been listed for sale on the coastline of Lake Superior in Chassell, Michigan. Read the full story by Smithsonian Magazine.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230809-lighthouse
Residents in Chicago, Illinois are fighting constant flooding and erosion along the shoreline. Read the full story by Grist.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230809-chicago-erosion
PortsToronto has brought in WasteShark aquadrones to add to its trash trapping program on Lake Ontario this summer in Toronto, Ontario. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230809-garbage-cleanup
Saginaw Bay Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (CISMA), in partnership with Arenac Conservation District, Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Michigan Technological University, and US Fish and Wildlife Service are conducting an ongoing project along the Saginaw Bay shoreline. Read the full story by WEYI -TV – Saginaw, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230809-saginaw-bay
The just-released results of a joint United States and Canadian research study shows that the Port of Oswego Authority in Oswego, New York, made a $513 million impact on the local and regional economy and supported 2,229 jobs by its maritime activity. Read the full story by Oswego County Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230809-port-economics
A sheen of diesel fuel spilled from the freighter Manitowoc has dissipated north of Manistee, Michigan after a storm. The Manitowoc is headed to Muskegon for repairs while the cause of the spill remains under investigation. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230807-spill-cleanup
Waukesha, Wisconsin, will begin using Lake Michigan water for public supply once construction crews finish building a pumping station and two reservoirs. To tap into Lake Michigan for water, Waukesha had to reach a special agreement with Milwaukee and get the okay from the Great Lakes States and Provinces under the Great Lakes Compact. Read the full story by Spectrum News 1.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230807-waukesha-water-supply
The North Shores of Saugatuck, Michigan, wants to build 50 homes and a marina basin along the Kalamazoo River, but the Saugatuck Dunes Coastal Alliance argues the development would remove 250,000 tons of sand from one of the state’s critical dune areas. The coming weeks could mark a crucial point in the 17-year long battle over this proposed development. Read the full story by WVGR – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230807-development-issue
