The Great Lakes Water Authority, which provides drinking water and wastewater services to most of southeast Michigan, is making changes to how it treats drinking water ahead of some new, more stringent rules limiting lead and copper levels in water. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240927-pipe-corrosion-control
Microplastics pollution has caught the attention of Great Lakes scientists and policymakers. Wayne State University researchers are studying a river for clues. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240927-river-microplastics
Last month, invasive Quagga mussels were first discovered in Lake Geneva in Walworth County, Wisconsin, threatening the ecological balance of Wisconsin’s inland lakes and motivating new conservation efforts. Read the full story by The Daily Cardinal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240927-geneva-quaggas
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will install special equipment in the Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to study the impact of waves on piers and break walls. In October, an Integrated Radar Monitoring System will be installed at Manistique Harbor to collect fall wave data over several months. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240927-wave-monitoring
Wisconsin maritime historians recently discovered a 130-year-old shipwreck, the John Evenson steam tug, in Lake Michigan near Algoma, Wisconsin. The tug was lost in June 1895 while assisting another ship as it was entering the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal. Read the full story by WWMT-TV – Kalamazoo, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240927-shipwreck-lake-michigan
The mayor of the city of Muskegon, Michigan, assured residents Tuesday night they can “breathe a little sigh of relief” that their drinking water is safe, following high levels of PFAS found in Muskegon Lake earlier this year. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240927-pfas-muskegon
On Tuesday, community members helped release nearly 1,800 young lake sturgeon into the St. Louis River near Brookston, Minnesota. The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa invited the community to help with the stocking event as part of a continuing effort to reestablish the species where it once occurred naturally. Read the full story by the Pine Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240927-sturgeon-release
A piping plover raised at a captive-rearing facility at the University of Michigan Biological Station in Pellston, Michigan, and released near Chicago has successfully made its way south for the winter, arriving in Wilmington, North Carolina. Read the full story by the Wilmington Star-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240927-plover-migration
A new webcam has been added to a shipwreck museum in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. This live video feed boasts views of the Whitefish Point Light Station, sunrises over Lake Superior, freighters, incoming storms, and even the Northern Lights. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240925-lighthouse-webcam
Fisheries and Oceans Canada has a new plan to protect an endangered minnow found along the route of Ontario’s proposed Highway 413. But the federal plan falls short offering new protections for the fish. Read the full story by The Narwhal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240925-endangered-fish
In September of 1967, anglers poured out onto Lake Michigan in search of a new fish: salmon from the Pacific Ocean. Many people abandoned common sense in their pursuit of the fish, and some lost their lives. Read the full story by Interlochen Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240925-salmon-fishing
In Wisconsin’s Ashland and Bayfield counties, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be applying lampricides to the Bad River with the goal of killing sea lamprey larvae burrowed in the stream bottom. Read the full story by Northern News Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240925-lamprey-treatment
The most ambitious proposal for a marina along the Lake Erie shoreline in Hamburg, New York, includes two marinas on either side of Hoover Beach, creates small islands to protect the shore and moves Route 5 to the west. Read the full story by The Buffalo News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240925-marina-development
A group of Michigan State students created a play with input from experts in conservation and environmental communication. The project is part of a larger trend that blends conservation and the arts to get communities thinking about their natural areas. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240925-theater-project
Portage Lake Garden Club members and friends cleaned up the beach at Captain John Langland Park in Onekama, Michigan, on Saturday as part of the Alliance for the Great Lake’s Adopt-a-Beach-Day. Read the full story by the Herald Review.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240925-trash-removal
High concentrations of toxic PFAS chemicals were found in surface water foam this summer on Muskegon Lake in west Michigan. Although there are known legacy sources of PFAS in the Muskegon Lake watershed, experts say the recent increase in shoreline foaming is new and unexplained. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240925-pfas-lake-foam
Jackson, Michigan, is among many communities to receive sizable state grants in a push to rehabilitate Michigan’s water infrastructure, officials said. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240925-water-main-grant
You can fish on the Great Lakes, go boating, swim, and partake in water sports, all the while enjoying the spectacular views they provide. But how deep is each lake? You’d have to dive hundreds of feet below the surface to reach the bottom. Read the full story by the Akron Beacon Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240925-lake-facts
The Canadian federal government announced a “historic” $76 million in new funding for freshwater restoration on the Great Lakes, with investments targeted toward improving water quality and ecosystem health, as well as community-based science projects. Read the full story by the Windsor Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240923-canadian-gov-funding-greatlakes
Volunteer divers are surveying the riverbed near Beauharnois, Quebec, in the Montérégie region, to remove hundreds of tires from the water that have been polluting the aquatic environment for decades. Read the full story by the Montreal Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240923-stlawrenceriver-divers
The remains of the John Evenson, a wooden steam tug built in Milwaukee lie five miles northeast of Algoma, Wisconsin, 50 feet below Lake Michigan’s surface. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240923-wisconsin-maritime-tugboat-lakemichigan
Of the 188 aquatic non-native species in the Great Lakes, the species jeopardizing areas of Lake Erie the most is the zebra mussel. Scientists say that they are a great threat to the Great Lakes and their threat should not be minimized due to the loss of the native habitat of the lakes. Read the full story by the Akron Beacon Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240923-sealamprey-quaggamussels-invasivespecies-lakeerie
Overlook Trail in Manistee County, Michigan, offers views of Lake Michigan from hundreds of feet above the shoreline at the end of a short, accessible trail through the woods. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240923-lakemichigan-trail
A Great Lakes freighter flying under the Canadian flag destined for Bay City, Michigan, on Saturday, Sept. 21, has a storied – albeit misfortunate – sailing history. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240923-greatlakesfreighter-baycity
Algal blooms beyond western Lake Erie aren’t particularly new, but they aren’t going away anytime soon, either. There are many lesser-known blooms closer to home for residents of Toledo, Ohio, that are short-lived yet still potentially serious with their own set of health advisories. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240923-algalblooms-fiftystates
A new virtual book club is starting up with a specific interest in the Great Lakes. Called Great Lakes Great Read, the initiative encourages people to read a children’s and/or an adult book with a connection to the Great Lakes and join the authors for upcoming webinars. Read the full story by CollingwoodToday.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240923-greatlakes-bookclub-water
Instead of a swimming in the Chicago River, participants in the inaugural “Chicago River Swim” swam in Lake Michigan, raising $150,000 for ALS research and $50,000 to fund water safety lessons for 2,000 children in underserved communities. Read the full story by AP News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240923-chicagoriverswim-lakemichigan
Scientists from multiple agencies work together each spring and fall to help migrating sturgeon move around the first two of five hydroelectric dams on the Menominee River in Michigan. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240923-sturgeon-elevator
In August, scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory discovered around 40 large underwater features, most of which are about as long as an Olympic swimming pool. They’re cold, dark, and weirdly circular. Read the full story by WUWM – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240920-lake-michigan-sinkholes
In the only available wild rice spot on Lake Superior, Natives from different nations gather for the wild rice harvest season. The Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission brought their expertise for a harvest alongside representatives from the Mashkiiziibii Natural Resource Department. Read the full story by WDIO – TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240920-wild-rice-harvest
It’s been more than six weeks since the initial sighting of the Lake Erie alligator. There have been no confirmed sightings since. Wildlife experts review challenges the gator could face with the cold months ahead. Read the full story by the Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240920-erie-alligator
In addition to serving as picturesque areas for watersports and relaxation, wetlands serve many purposes including flood control and water quality preservation. Today, many different governments, groups, and organizations are working to preserve and restore these crucial ecosystems in Southeast Michigan. Read the full story by Planet Detroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240920-wetland-restoration-detroit
The Alliance for the Great Lakes says there is momentum growing across the country to shift the responsibility of the trash burden of plastic production from consumers to producers, and manufacturers need to be a part of the solution. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240920-sustainable-manufacturing
Less than 15% of the Great Lakes are mapped at high resolution but Michigan Tech aims to change that to better preserve and protect the lakes into the future. Read the full story by WDIV-TV-Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240920-lake-mapping
Cyanobacteria blooms are not normal for Lake Superior as the lake is nutrient-poor and the coldest of the Great Lakes, but warming temperatures and increased flooding have overridden its natural barrier against algal blooms. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240920-algal-bloom-reporting
In a significant stride toward bolstering environmental journalism, Michigan Public is amplifying its coverage of the Great Lakes and drinking water issues, thanks to a generous $200,000 grant. This funding breathes new life into the Great Lakes News Collaborative. Read the full story by Michigan Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240920-great-lakes-news-funding
Marquette’s Great Lakes Climate Corps is wrapping up its summer of projects. The team of young adults improves the environment with community-based projects around Michigan’s upper peninsula. Read the full story by WLUC – TV – Marquette, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240920-climate-corps-projects
More than three months after the Michipicoten sustained a rupture to its hull on Lake Superior, the Canadian-flagged bulk carrier remains dockside in Superior, Wisconsin. Read the full story by TBnewswatch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240920-idle-freighter
Ohio-based plaintiffs seeking strict limits on agricultural runoff allowed into Lake Erie streams and tributaries have been given until Monday to tell a U.S. District Judge how they would like the case to proceed. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved the state’s first-ever Total Maximum Daily Load for the lake’s western basin last year, but plaintiffs claim it wasn’t strong enough and renewed their lawsuit. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240918-algal-bloom-litigation
In Michigan, Chinook and Coho salmon pick up on decreasing day length and cooler temperatures as signals to migrate into river systems to spawn. Warmer temperatures don’t always bode well for fishermen looking to land salmon as they make their fall run, though decreasing daylight will allow water temperatures to drop. Read the full story by WZZM-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240918-salmon-run
The Neeskay, a Milwaukee-based research vessel, got its start more than 70 years ago as a supply vessel in the Korean War. Today, it travels Lake Michigan on various research projects for UW-Milwaukee’s School of Freshwater Sciences and other agencies, helping scientists in the state gather valuable data. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240918-research-vessel
Construction crews began to replace the Union Street Dam in Traverse City, Michigan, with a unique structure called FishPass which is designed to enable native fish migration while stopping invasive species. The Great Lakes Fishery Commission is spearheading the project that is expected to finish in 2027. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240918-fish-pass-construction
Enbridge, a Canadian energy company, is still waiting for a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build its proposed tunnel that would house a segment of its Line 5 pipeline. As Anishnaabe and environmental groups in the U.S. continue to ask for the complete closure of the pipeline, a delayed environmental impact statement is pushing the start of construction until at least 2026. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240918-pipeline-tunnel
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources received 195 reports of algal blooms and related illnesses on Wisconsin lakes as of September 9, exceeding the 178 reports received last year. The DNR confirmed around 72 percent were cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae blooms, that may have been caused by heavy rains earlier this summer carrying more nutrients into lakes. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240918-algal-bloom-reports
The Leelanau Historical Society and Museum in Leelanau County, Michigan, is hosting its 3rd annual Maritime History Festival. The event will feature displays showcasing the maritime culture of the area through lighthouse and ship models, a shipwreck exhibit, and the 19th annual live exhibit “Wood Boats on the Wall” which will feature classic wooden boats from around the region. Read the full story by WPBN-TV – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240918-maritime-history-festival
At an upcoming event on efforts to remediate the St. Clair River Area of Concern, speakers will provide information on microplastics in the Great Lakes, efforts to restore the St. Clair River aquatic environment, and the four remaining beneficial use impairments on the St. Clair River. Read the full story by Windsor News Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240918-restoration-presentation
A historic lifeboat was dedicated in a ceremony at the popular Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum site on Whitefish Point, Michigan, on Saturday. Read the full story by Soo Leader.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240918-museum-artifact
The Cheboygan Lock in Cheboygan, Michigan, will close for much of the fall and winter for restoration work, reopening in late spring 2025, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240916-lock
Microsoft is building a massive data center on a huge piece of property in the Racine County village of Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin. There are deep concerns about the power and water demands tied to the Microsoft project. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240916-racine
If you want a say in how the dunes, trails and campsites at Petoskey State Park are managed, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is hosting a virtual public meeting on Sept. 17 to gather feedback. Read the full story by the Petoskey News-Review.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240916-petoskey
