JEWEL OF THE GREAT LAKES: Keeping pollutants out

By Julie Riddle, The Alpena News

This article is part of a collaboration between The Alpena News and Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television to bring audiences stories about the Great Lakes, especially Lake Huron and its watershed.

ALPENA — Spring showers may bring spring flowers, but they can also carry pollutants into the lake that provides Alpena’s drinking water and many tourism dollars.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/keeping-pollutants-out/

The Alpena News

Several thousands of gallons of oily material in Flint River

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Several thousands of gallons of an oil-based, dark black material with a petroleum smell spilled into the Flint River in Flint, authorities said Wednesday.

The spilled appeared to be 5 miles (8 kilometers) miles long, Jill Greenberg, a spokeswoman for Michigan’s environmental agency, told MLive.com.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ap-oily-material-flint-river/

The Associated Press

Drinking Water News Roundup: Flooding poses risk to well water, Indiana drinking water report shared, EPA grants for Ohio

From lead pipes to PFAS, drinking water contamination is a major issue plaguing cities and towns all around the Great Lakes. Cleaning up contaminants and providing safe water to everyone is an ongoing public health struggle.

Keep up with drinking water-related developments in the Great Lakes area.

Click on the headline to read the full story:

 

Illinois:

  • Illinois American Water Encourages Customers to View their 2021 Community Water Quality Report – Business Wire

Illinois American Water is encouraging customers to view the company’s 2021 water quality reports to learn more about the source and quality of their drinking water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/drinking-water-news-roundup-flooding-risk-epa-grants-ohio/

Tynnetta Harris

Michigan Gov. Whitmer’s plan needs to move from aspiration to action, says Detroit climate advocate

In February 2021, Detroit’s Michelle Martinez was excited like she hadn’t been in years about the potential of progress on core environmental and climate justice issues.

President Donald Trump, who took the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accords and was rolling back Obama-era environmental protections, was out of office.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/michigan-gov-plan-action/

Gary Wilson

Wisconsin Republicans allow PFAS standards to take effect

By Todd Richmond, Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Republicans will allow regulations Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ administration developed to control pollution from a group of chemicals known as PFAS to take effect, a spokesman for the lawmaker who controls the Legislature’s rules committee said Monday.

The Legislature’s Republican-controlled Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Reviews has no objections to the regulations and will allow the Department of Natural Resources to implement them, said Mike Mikalsen, an aide to the committee’s co-chairman, Sen.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ap-wisconsin-republicans-pfas-standards/

The Associated Press

As agencies seek more environmental justice data, longtime residents are skeptical

By Eleanore Catolico, Energy News Network

This story was first published on the Energy News Network and was republished here with permission.

This article is co-published by the Energy News Network and Planet Detroit with support from the Race and Justice Reporting Initiative at the Damon J.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/agencies-environmental-data-residents/

Energy News Network

Lake Erie’s once-thriving blue pike is long gone but never forgotten

One of the last known (and most famous) blue pike was landed by hook and line in 1962. In 1983, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared the blue pike extinct. Yet, nearly 40 years later, the population remains robust and healthy – in the hearts and minds of countless anglers.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/lake-erie-blue-pike-never-forgotten/

James Proffitt

EXCLUSIVE: Ontario Regulator Refuses New Pipeline, Tells Enbridge to Plan for Lower Gas Demand

By Mitchell Beer, The Energy Mix 

This story originally appeared in The Energy Mix and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.

The Ontario Energy Board sent minor shock waves through the province’s energy regulatory and municipal energy communities earlier this month with its refusal to approve the final phases of a $123.7-million pipeline replacement project in Ottawa proposed by Enbridge Gas.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ontario-regulator-refuses-pipeline-enbridge-gas/

The Energy Mix

Coast Guard: Oil spill closes shipping on St. Mary’s River

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ontario. (AP) — An oil spill temporarily closed shipping traffic on the St. Marys River between Ontario and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday.

The 5,300-gallon (20,063-liter) spill originated from Algoma Steel in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, around 10:30 a.m. Thursday.

The 75-mile (121-kilometer) river connects Lake Superior and Lake Huron and serves as part of the border between Michigan and Ontario.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ap-coast-guard-oil-spill-shipping/

The Associated Press

Ohio residents fight to get radioactive oil and gas waste off their roads

By Diana Kruzman, Grist

This story was originally published by Grist. You can subscribe to its weekly newsletter here.

Joe Mosyjowski has watched a decade-long boom in oil and gas drilling unfold in the region surrounding his 50-acre farm in northeast Ohio.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ohio-residents-radioactive-oil-gas-waste-roads/

Grist

In Minnesota, the PolyMet mine pits renewable energy needs against tribes and the EPA

By Diana Kruzman, Grist

This story was originally published by Grist. You can subscribe to its weekly newsletter here.

Northeastern Minnesota’s Iron Range has been a major mining hub since the 1860s. Nestled among thick forests and many of the state’s famed “10,000 lakes,” open-pit mines there produce low-grade iron ore that’s shipped to steel mills around the country.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/minnesota-polymet-mine-renewable-energy-tribes/

Grist

Climate-driven flooding poses well water contamination risks

By Michael Phillis and John Flesher, Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — After a record-setting Midwestern rainstorm that damaged thousands of homes and businesses, Stefanie Johnson’s farmhouse in Blandinsville, Illinois, didn’t have safe drinking water for nearly two months.

Flood water poured into her well, turning the water a muddy brown and forcing Johnson, her husband and their two young children to use store-bought supplies.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ap-climate-driven-flooding-contamination-risks/

The Associated Press

Line 5 shutdown would increase gas prices by half a cent

One of the latest updates in Enbridge’s ongoing Line 5 court cases is a report from Neil Earnest, president of an energy consultancy firm, filed by Enbridge.

In the report, Earnest estimates that in the event of a Line 5 shutdown, gas, jet fuel and diesel prices would increase by half a cent per gallon in Michigan and Wisconsin, and 5 cents per gallon in Ontario.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/line-5-shutdown-gas-prices-half-cent-increase/

Natasha Blakely

African scientists visit the North American Great Lakes in international exchange

One by one, netted fish arrived onto the boat: smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, common carp, gizzard shad, longnose gar.

They lay on their sides, briefly stunned by the electricity that was coursing from rods on the boat’s bow and then scooped on board the 21-foot vessel on a cloudy spring day on Lake Erie.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/african-scientists-great-lakes-international-exchange/

Natasha Blakely

Pennsylvania public water utilities say Senate bill will force up rates

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Legislation criticized by opponents as a vehicle for-profit water companies to take over municipal water authorities in Pennsylvania by imposing expensive regulations on them passed the Republican-controlled state Senate on Tuesday.

Opponents also warned that the bill will precipitate ratepayer increases when water authorities must meet the new regulations or after they are forced to sell out to for-profit water companies.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ap-pennsylvania-senate-bill-rates/

The Associated Press

Wisconsin judge leaves PFAS regulation ruling on hold

By Scott Bauer, Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin judge on Tuesday agreed to keep on hold his ruling from April that prevented state regulators from requiring businesses and others responsible for pollution by PFAS chemicals to investigate and clean up the contamination.

Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren said because of the importance and impact of his ruling, it made sense to keep it on hold while the state Department of Natural Resources appeals.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ap-wisconsin-judge-pfas-hold/

The Associated Press

Landmark bill to limit cryptomining passes NY Legislature

By Michael Hill, Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York lawmakers have passed a milestone environmental measure designed to tap the brakes on the spread of cryptocurrency mining operations that burn fossil fuels.

Both supporters and opponents say that the closely watched bill, approved early Friday by the state Senate, is the first of its kind in the U.S.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ap-landmark-bill-limit-cryptomining/

The Associated Press

COVID hits Buttigieg, others who attended Michigan event

MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. (AP) — At least 15 people who attended a public affairs conference last week on Michigan’s Mackinac Island have tested positive for COVID-19, including U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

The gathering is put on each year by a business group, the Detroit Regional Chamber, and attracts more than 1,000 public officials, journalists and others who discuss a variety of political and policy issues.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ap-covid-michigan-event/

The Associated Press

Mapping tools help Ohio cities chart course for environmental justice

By Kathiann M. KowalskiEnergy News Network

This story was first published on the Energy News Network and was republished here with permission.

Ohio cities are using new data mapping tools to identify and respond to disparities in energy burdens, climate risks, and pollution impacts.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/mapping-tools-ohio-environmental-justice/

Energy News Network

Citizens Energy launches lead service line replacement program

By Enrique Saenz, Indiana Environmental Reporter

Citizens Energy Group announced it would begin a multi-year program to replace thousands of lead service lines owned by its customers.

The company said it received an order from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission granting it permission to launch a five-year, $22.7 million effort to replace customer-owned lead service lines at about 2,500 homes.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/citizens-energy-lead-service-line-program/

Indiana Environmental Reporter

Pressure growing to remove PFAS from fast food wrappers

By Michael Casey, Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — Brenda Hampton first came across the toxic industrial compound PFAS after finding it was part of the cocktail of contaminants that tainted the drinking water in her North Alabama community.

Hampton, who believes the contaminated water contributed to kidney problems she and other residents suffer, soon learned the chemicals were found in another source that hit close to home — fast food wrappers, boxes and plates.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ap-pressure-growing-remove-pfas-wrappers/

The Associated Press

Harmful algal blooms cause problems in Lake Erie; drinking water customers pay the price

By Lester Graham, Michigan Radio

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/harmful-algal-blooms-lake-erie/

Michigan Radio

“Thank God that smell is gone”: Detroit incinerator to be demolished after decades of complaints

By Briana Rice, Michigan Radio

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/detroit-incinerator-demolished-complaints/

Michigan Radio

Great Lakes Moment: Rewilding Metropolitan Detroit

Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.

The practice of rewilding is frequently carried out in wilderness areas, but cities like Detroit are beginning to reintroduce native species of plants and animals to enhance biodiversity and reap all the benefits of making nature part of everyday urban life.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/great-lakes-moment-rewilding-metropolitan-detroit/

John Hartig

The Catch: Policy news facing the Great Lakes region

This month of The Catch features stories from our partners in the Great Lakes News Collaborative. The collaborative’s investigation of the cost of water in the Great Lakes region was the focus of the latest episode.

In Chicago, journalist Laura Gersony is rolling out a new biweekly offering from Circle of Blue called Fresh: A Great Lakes Policy Briefing.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/the-catch-policy-news-great-lakes-region/

GLN Editor

A lesser known Great Lakes treasure: sea glass

The North American Sea Glass Association held its 16th Annual Sea Glass Festival at Maumee Bay State Park Lodge on Lake Erie – the first time it wasn’t held at a saltwater venue.

“This is probably the crème de la crème of festivals,” said Beverly Vinch, of Washed Ashore Jewelry, based in Avon Lake, Ohio.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/great-lakes-sea-glass/

James Proffitt

Energy News Roundup: Illinois 6th in clean energy capacity, debate over Michigan risk of brownouts, the world’s potential impending energy crisis

Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.

Click on the headline to read the full story:

Illinois:

  • Keeping Illinois nuclear plants open is saving some customers $237 a year on average – CNBC

In September, Illinois lawmakers passed a watershed clean energy law which established the state as a leader for its efforts to decarbonize.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/energy-news-roundup-impending-energy-crisis/

Natasha Blakely

Rising water makes Lake Michigan wetlands vulnerable to invaders

This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.

By Caroline Miller, Great Lakes Echo

High water and ice scouring has shifted native wetlands inland and opened a door to invasive species along Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan coast.

A new study documents the first sighting of the invasive species, European frogbit, in Wisconsin and says that it could threaten native plants, fish and invertebrates.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/rising-water-lake-michigan-wetlands-invaders/

Great Lakes Echo

Marshfield, Adams shut down wells due to PFAS pollution

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Marshfield and Adams have joined the list of Wisconsin cities that have shut down municipal wells due to PFAS contamination.

Wisconsin Public Radio reported that the state Department of Natural Resources announced Thursday that sampling in the two cities has detected PFAS high enough to concern state health officials.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ap-wisconsin-wells-pfas-pollution/

The Associated Press

Michigan Great Lakes: Expect lower waters, ample fish and a hot summer

By Zahra Ahmad, Bridge Michigan

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/michigan-great-lakes-summer/

Bridge Michigan

The Catch: Current issues in Canadian water infrastructure

This month of The Catch features stories from our partners in the Great Lakes News Collaborative. The collaborative’s investigation of the cost of water in the Great Lakes region was the focus of the latest episode.

Toronto-based journalist Andrew Reeves discusses a piece he wrote for Great Lakes Now about the history and current issues in Canadian water infrastructure.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/the-catch-canadian-water-infrastructure/

GLN Editor

EPA: Two toxic hot spots in Michigan will take longer to clean up than many others in Great Lakes states

By Lester Graham, Michigan Radio

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/toxic-hot-spots-michigan-great-lakes-states/

Michigan Radio

Massive salmon farm gets green light from Ohio DNR

Despite overwhelming public opposition based on public comments received by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the agency approved a water withdrawal and consumptive use permit for Massachusetts-based Aquabounty on March 14.

The permit will allow operators to pull about 28 million gallons from the Michindoh Aquifer to fill tanks at its state-of-the-art Atlantic salmon rearing facility in Pioneer, Ohio.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/salmon-farm-ohio-dnr/

James Proffitt

The Catch: E. Coli and faulty septic systems

This month of The Catch features stories from our partners in the Great Lakes News Collaborative. The collaborative’s investigation of the cost of water in the Great Lakes region was the focus of the latest episode.

Michigan Radio‘s Lester Graham discusses a story he’s been following in northern Michigan on Elk Lake, where plant life and E.Coli are showing up in previously crystal-clear water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/the-catch-septic-systems/

GLN Editor

Infrastructure plan: $33M to clean up hundreds of oil wells

By Janet McConnaughey, Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — About $33 million of the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan recently signed into law by President Joe Biden will go toward cleanning up 277 of an estimated 15,000 abandoned oil and gas wells on federal land, the nation’s interior secretary said Wednesday.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/ap-infrastructure-plan-clean-up-wells/

The Associated Press

IDEM Testing Confirms “Forever Chemicals” in Some Public Water Systems

By Enrique Saenz, Indiana Environmental Reporter

Final results of the first phase of statewide community water system testing confirmed the presence of PFAS chemicals in the treated drinking water of nearly a dozen Indiana communities.

The presence of PFAS chemicals in drinking water could be exposing thousands of Hoosiers to a series of adverse health conditions ranging from increased risk of kidney and testicular cancers to high cholesterol levels.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/testing-confirms-forever-chemicals-water-systems/

Indiana Environmental Reporter

Water’s True Cost: The Great Lakes Now Episode Quiz

Great Lakes Now episodes are packed with important information on current topics.

In “Water’s True Cost,” learn about the aging infrastructure problem in Michigan and how many households struggle to pay their water bills. And in “The Catch” we look at the same problem in Ontario, the problem of Michigan’s lacking sewer regulations, and a new series on Great Lakes policy.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/waters-true-cost-the-great-lakes-now-episode-quiz/

Tynnetta Harris

Episode 2205: The Cost of Drinking Water

Based on an independent project by the Great Lakes News Collaborative to better understand the real cost of water, this lesson will explore the costs associated with providing drinking water to communities in the Great Lakes and across the U.S. Students will learn how water infrastructure systems naturally age and need to be maintained, upgraded, fixed, or replaced, and how that life cycle of the infrastructure affects water quality and cost to communities who depend on fresh, clean water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/episode-2205-drinking-water-lesson-plan/

Gary Abud Jr.

PFAS News Roundup: New York bill bans PFAS in clothes, Ohio city files lawsuit, Wisconsin struggles to set standards

PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.

Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/pfas-news-roundup-new-york-clothes-ohio-lawsuit-wisconsin-standards/

Tynnetta Harris

Soo Locks project no longer fully funded

After a big announcement in January celebrating $479 million directed to fully fund the construction of a new lock, the Army Corps of Engineers has had to walk it back, according to a report by The Detroit News.

The billion-dollar project, authorized by Congress at $922 million in 2018, is now estimated to be “somewhere between two times and three times” the cost, Sen.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/soo-locks-project-no-longer-fully-funded/

Natasha Blakely

Water Always Wins: “Quietly radical” book makes case for Slow Water

While growing up in California, Erica Gies became aware of the state’s water scarcity, which she told Great Lakes Now has led to a “low-key obsession about water for just about everyone in the state.”

California’s droughts have been a regular occurrence that put a spotlight on the importance of water for Gies, fostering a writing career on the topic that has spanned 15 years.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/water-always-wins-book/

Gary Wilson

AI technology could be used to monitor invaders in the Great Lakes

Invasive zebra and quagga mussels are firmly established in the Great Lakes, and efforts to control them have proved mostly fruitless. But environmental managers still want to know where they are, how many there are and what they are up to, so they can predict how the ecosystem will be affected and protect vital infrastructure.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/ai-technology-invaders-great-lakes/

Brian Owens

Mapping the Great Lakes: Power up

Love staring at a map and discovering something interesting? Then “Mapping the Great Lakes” is for you. It’s a monthly Great Lakes Now feature created by Alex B. Hill, a self-described “data nerd and anthropologist” who combines cartography, data, and analytics with storytelling and human experience.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/mapping-the-great-lakes-power-up/

Alex Hill

Water’s True Cost

By J. Carl Ganter, Circle of Blue

This story is part of “Water’s True Cost,” a series by the Great Lakes News Collaborative focused on the rising cost of water in Michigan and the various causes leading to the state of water systems today. Find the rest of the stories in the series here.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/waters-true-cost/

Circle of Blue

Biden forest plan stirs dispute over what counts as “old”

By Matthew Brown and Matthew Daly, Associated Press

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — President Joe Biden’s order to protect the nation’s oldest forests against climate change, wildfires and other problems devastating vast woodlands is raising a simple yet vexing question: When does a forest grow old?

Millions of acres are potentially on the line — federal land that could eventually get new protections or remain open to logging as the administration decides which trees to count under Biden’s order covering “old growth” and “mature” forests.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/ap-biden-forest-plan-dispute/

The Associated Press

Dam Accounting: Taking Stock of Methane Emissions From Reservoirs

By Tara Lohan, The Revelator

This story originally appeared in The Revelator and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.

This month regulators greenlighted a transmission line that would bring power generated from Canadian hydroelectric dams to New York City.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/stock-methane-emissions-reservoirs/

The Revelator

National Guard to help with northeastern Minnesota flooding

ST. PAUL (AP) — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday activated the National Guard to help control record flooding in areas of northeastern Minnesota.

Emergency management officials in St. Louis and Koochiching counties requested the assistance to deal with high water caused by heavy spring rains and rapid snowmelt throughout the Rainy River Basin.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/ap-national-guard-minnesota-flooding/

The Associated Press

Drinking Water News Roundup: $3M invested in Illinois water system, coal ash rule means safer water in Indiana

From lead pipes to PFAS, drinking water contamination is a major issue plaguing cities and towns all around the Great Lakes. Cleaning up contaminants and providing safe water to everyone is an ongoing public health struggle.

Keep up with drinking water-related developments in the Great Lakes area.

Click on the headline to read the full story:

 

Illinois:

  • Illinois American Water Announces Investment of Over $3 Million in Sterling Water System During National Infrastructure Week – Business Wire

Illinois American Water is investing over $3 million to replace over 8,600 feet or 1.6 miles of water main throughout the Sterling Water System.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/drinking-water-news-roundup-illinois-water-system-coal-ash-indiana/

Tynnetta Harris

Canada ranks dead last among G7 on climate progress: Earth Index

By Shawn McCarthy, Corporate Knights

This story originally appeared in Corporate Knights and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.

Canada must make up for lost ground if it’s going to meet its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 45% from 2005 levels by 2030.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/canada-ranks-last-climate-progress/

Corporate Knights

Ontario faces uneven investment in water infrastructure

This is part two in a two-part series looking at the cost of water in Ontario. Read part one here, and find the Great Lakes News Collaborative’s series on cost of water in Michigan here.

Just how big an underinvestment Ontario is facing when it comes to the state of its drinking and wastewater infrastructure is difficult to tabulate.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/ontario-uneven-investment-water-infrastructure/

Andrew Reeves