An interim report commissioned by federal regulators indicated that the sudden loss of soil strength under saturated conditions most likely caused the static liquefaction failure of the Michigan Edenville and Sanford dams during steady rain in May 2020 to collapse last year. Read the full story by Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210915-dam-collapse
As a part of Governor Whitmer’s $200 million proposed expansion of a state Clean Water Plan through the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy is the removal lead service lines across the state, including in Benton Harbor, MI which has had six straight lead exceedances. Read the full story by Water & Wastes Digest.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210915-lead
After reports that the 2021 rice crop is about the worst the northern Great Lakes has ever seen, two University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Lake Trout Station scientists studied some of the impacts, which may be due to 5-6 years of unusually high water, competition with pond lilies which benefit from the longer growing seasons, and increases in swan and geese populations. Read the full story by WXPR-FM – Rhinelander, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210915-rice
Monarch butterflies make a stop in Cleveland Metroparks, usually near the Lake Erie shore at Wendy Park, to rest along their journey from Canada and the Northeastern U.S. to Mexico. Read the full story by WEWC-TV – Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210915-monarchs
For the past seven years, Lake Superior water levels have been considered high. Now, they are dropping back to their historical long-term average due to the recent drought. Read the full story by KBJR-TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210915-lake-levels
The first, fully-electric road ferries to sail in North America are now on their way from Damen Shipyards in Galati, Romania to Lake Ontario to begin operations. Ordered by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, the Amherst Islander II and Wolfe Islander IV, 68 and 98 metres in length respectively, represent a new generation of zero-emission large ferries. Read the full story by Ship Insight.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210915-ferries
A University of Regina professor led an international study published in the journal Nature that looks at the impact of warming waters on dissolved oxygen and algae prevalence. The study used lake data with longstanding records across the northern hemisphere, including two sites in Ontario. Read the full story by the Ontario Out of Doors.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210915-fish
For Nicole Ward, Wisconsin Sea Grant’s current J. Philip Keillor Great Lakes Fellow, returning to Madison for this opportunity has brought her academic journey full circle.
Keillor Fellow Dr. Nicole K. Ward (Submitted photo)
Ward earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison just over a decade ago, then left the Badger State for graduate studies in Idaho and Virginia. Yet Ward was eager to get back to the Upper Midwest and work on Great Lakes topics—making the Keillor Fellowship, which began June 1, an excellent fit for the newly minted Ph.D.
She is based at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Office of Great Waters, where she works closely with Madeline Magee, monitoring program coordinator, and Cherie Hagen, the Lake Superior Basin supervisor. Ward is also active in the Great Lakes Working Group of the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI).
Broadly speaking, her focus is on incorporating climate change resilience planning into the DNR’s Great Lakes projects. The three main projects she’s associated with are:
The range of duties draws upon Ward’s passion for freshwater ecosystems, but also allows her to grow her skillset. “I’ve worked in multiple other types of freshwater ecosystems, like rivers, streams, lakes and reservoirs, but this will add to my repertoire through working on the Great Lakes and coastal wetlands,” she said.
Nicole K. Ward explores some of Wisconsin’s waters by canoe. (Photo: Titus Seilheimer)
A native of Rochester, Minnesota, Ward spent three years with the Minnesota DNR working on native mussels and stream ecology after earning her bachelor’s degree.
Those years with the Minnesota DNR set her future direction in motion: “It was while snorkeling and scuba diving in the streams and rivers of Minnesota that I began seeing the effects of land management and decision-making that were far removed from the stream itself,” she said. “I had an ‘aha moment’ while working there, when I decided I needed to learn more about how people make environmental decisions, and how those decisions may change in response to changing ecosystems. The ever-changing and complex Great Lakes Basin is really the perfect place to apply my skills in understanding feedbacks between ecosystem change and human decision-making.”
After a master’s degree at the University of Idaho in water resources, doctoral work in biological sciences at Virginia Tech followed. There, she examined land use and climate change over the course of 31 years in the Lake Sunapee watershed in New Hampshire.
During her time at Virginia Tech, she also worked with a local lake association to co-produce an online, interactive data visualization tool for communicating with landowners about lawn management practices. She collaborated with a social psychologist to develop the tool and gauge its effectiveness.
This points to another area of interest: science communication and finding effective strategies for connecting with varied audiences. One of the key things she learned from working with the psychologist, Ward said, was that “Simple messaging is better. While you see that in the literature, this experience was a really direct, personal reality check of just how simple you need to keep things if engaging with a particular audience for the first time about a topic.”
The human dimension of environmental decisions is a throughline in her work. Said Ward, “A foundational part of how I think about myself as a scientist is to fully recognize that people make environmental decisions based on much more than just scientific evidence. Water issues are never actually about the water, they’re about the underlying values and priorities of people, and people have more shared values than we often recognize.”
The post Keillor Fellow to integrate climate change planning into Great Lakes and coastal wetlands projects first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/keillor-fellow-to-integrate-climate-change-planning-into-great-lakes-and-coastal-wetlands-projects/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=keillor-fellow-to-integrate-climate-change-planning-into-great-lakes-and-coastal-wetlands-projects
Manish Bapna believes that, as a country, we are at a critical juncture with climate change and the time to act is now.
“We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to overcome the climate crisis and build a healthier, more equitable and more vibrant world,” Bapna said in a statement on his appointment in August as president and CEO of the non-profit Natural Resources Defense Council.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/09/natural-resources-defense-council-climate-equity-diversity-qna/
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/global-climate-202108
Beyond the obvious proximity to the five Great Lakes, what makes a region? The Midwest has its own stereotypes – the Rust Belt has become a popular term for northern post-industrial cities – but perhaps the draw of the Earth’s bounty of freshwater is more meaningful?
Aside from the cultural influence of the lakes, the Great Lakes region is a combination of environmental science, politics and economy.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/09/map-region-definitions-great-lakes/
NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
https://noaaglerl.blog/2021/09/14/from-safe-drinking-water-to-sustainable-fisheries-noaa-glerls-experimental-lake-erie-hypoxia-forecast-is-even-more-useful-than-anticipated/
Teachers in the Rivers2Lake Summer Institute receive basic canoeing instruction from Luciana Ranelli of the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant
Teachers from northern Wisconsin and northern Minnesota received firsthand experience in their watershed recently, thanks to the Rivers2Lake Education Program run by the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve (Reserve).
Six teachers took part in a weeklong Rivers2Lake Summer Institute where they traveled the upper reaches of the St. Louis River, trapping water bugs in nets, learning how to test water quality and developing a relationship with the river and Lake Superior. They are gathering ideas and techniques to share with their students with the Reserve’s help.
This is the ninth year of the program, which has been funded in part by Wisconsin Sea Grant for four of those years. One activity during the institute involved a short canoe trip around Pokegama Bay in Superior, Wisconsin. The teachers learned why the area is important.
Ryan Feldbrugge, education specialist with the Reserve. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant
“Pokegama is our reference site,” said Ryan Feldbrugge, education specialist with the Reserve. “It’s an example of an undisturbed or minimally disturbed ecosystem.”
Feldbrugge explained how the Reserve monitors conditions in the area with a meteorological station and water quality equipment. “The idea is to have baseline data so we can track how the wetlands are changing and how the plant communities are changing so that we can do stewardship or restoration efforts if that’s what’s needed.”
Luciana Ranelli, Reserve education coordinator, said the quiet, protected bay is also a good place for students to explore the St. Louis River Estuary. “You could imagine your tiny tikes or older students here, doing what we are doing,” she said to the teachers. Plus, a new boat launch developed by the Reserve, city of Superior and the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program provides easier access and vault toilets.
During that recent canoe trip, the teachers battled wind past the meteorological station and learned about purple loosestrife, a pretty but invasive plant scattered along the bay’s shores. Feldbrugge said the Reserve has been working closely with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for several years to rear and release beetles that feed exclusively on loosestrife. They are slowly making progress in controlling the plant in the estuary.
Two guests joined the teachers: Noah Pinnsonault, a research and monitoring technician for the Reserve, and Megan Hogfeldt, a water resources specialist with the city of Superior. Once out of the wind, the teachers rafted their canoes together to hear Pinnsonault describe work he’s doing to address damage by the emerald ash-borer beetle, which destroys black ash trees, a prevalent tree species in the estuary. He’s determining survival rates for alternative tree species that were planted in 2015. These include hackberry, northern white cedar and red maple.
“In really low-lying sites, black ash is basically the only thing that will grow there. So, we’re trying to figure out what besides the ash will work. If we can’t save the black ash, we need to at least preserve the ecosystem function and keep it forested, otherwise, everything will change,” Pinnsonault said.
Megan Hogfeldt, a water resources specialist with the city of Superior. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant
Once back on shore, Hogfeldt described the stormwater control work she does for the city, while Reserve staff loaded the canoes on their trailer. “If you haven’t been through Superior, the city has about seven streams that go through it. We’re always interacting with water in Superior and Duluth,” Hogfeldt said.
She offers several programs that teachers and their classes can participate in, such as storm drain art, a stream monitoring program and an adopt-a-storm drain program.
After the institute completes, the Reserve offers teachers continued support to integrate Lake Superior science, history, research and stewardship into their classrooms.
“The effects have been transformative,” Ranelli said. “Teachers appreciate the sustained support through the school year, and students in Rivers2Lake classrooms have improved learning and enhanced engagement. We’re proud to support local teachers and students in learning about their watershed.”
For at least two teachers on the paddle, this wasn’t the only time they’ve been on the water with Reserve staff. Melissa Hepokoski from Cooper Elementary School and Jasmine Haroldson from Northern Lights Elementary attended an Outdoor Learning Clinic for two days last summer.
In her teacher institute evaluation, Haroldson offered, “The presenters were an amazing asset – so knowledgeable and excited! The nonthreatening, supportive community that was built in just four days will be so beneficial to me. I now have a huge library of resources — people and print — at my fingertips.”
For information about the Reserve’s work with Rivers2Lake students, please see this previous story.
Educators Melissa Hepokoski, Shawn Stewart and Jasmine Haroldson enjoyed their paddle time on Pokegama Bay. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant
News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/rivers2lake-program-continues-connecting-teachers-and-students-to-the-lake-superior-watershed/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rivers2lake-program-continues-connecting-teachers-and-students-to-the-lake-superior-watershed
The Great Lakes, which are receiving an estimated 22 million pounds (10,000 metric tons) of plastic debris annually from the U.S. and Canada are in need of a wide range of innovative solutions to tackle the plastic problem. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210913-plastic
For $350 million, rather than build a copy of the purpose-built Mackinaw, it may make more national security sense to procure a robust ocean-going icebreaker, able to serve beyond the Great Lakes, supporting the Coast Guard in increasingly contested Arctic and Antarctic waters. Read the full story by Forbes.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210913-icebreaker
According to the Ohio Department of Health’s BeachGuard, unsafe levels of microcystin were detected during routine testing recently for Lake Erie beach at Maumee Bay State Park, Ohio. Read the full story by WTVG-TV – Oregon, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210913-maumee-bay
Lake Erie pollution is reducing tourism revenues and hurting businesses that depend on the lake for their livelihood. Read the full story by Crain’s Cleveland Business
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210913-lake-erie
The USS Cobia, a WWII submarine, is the highlight of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum and allows visitors to see an important piece of WWII Pacific fleet history right on Lake Michigan. Read the full story by CNET.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210913-submarine
Samples of a microbial mat at the bottom of a 75-foot-deep sinkhole off the north shore of Middle Island, near Rockport State Recreation Area in the waters of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Lake Huron, answers a question scientists have asked for decades about the rise in Earth’s oxygen levels. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210913-sinkhole
As lake waters continue to warm through late summer and early fall, there’s been an explosive growth of blue-green algae found in areas such as western parts of Lake Erie. Read the full story by Spectrum News 1.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210913-algal-bloom
A recent fish kill along a 25-mile stretch of Lake Erie from Cleveland east to Perry, Ohio, is being blamed on oxygen-depleted water being blown toward shore and suffocating those fish that could not escape. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210913-fish-kill
Scientists have long hypothesized that storms would have strong impacts on water temperature and water column mixing, however, a recent study found that wind and rainstorms do not cause major temperature changes in lakes. Read the full story by Sault Online.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210913-inlandlakes
On Monday, the container ship Peyton Lynn C, which loaded in Antwerp, Belgium, passed through the locks in Massena and Iroquois, Ontario, on her way upriver on the St. Lawrence heading for the Great Lakes. In her wake, her owners believe, may be a new era in regards to a shipping method for the international waterway. Read the full story by Watertown Daily Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210913-shipping
Kate Truitt is a GIS Specialist working on the GLC’s Area Contingency Planning Project. In this role, she assists in mapping and data development for the Inland Sensitivity Atlas for the EPA.
Prior to coming to the Commission, Kate worked for Ducks Unlimited for one year as a GIS intern working to update the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s (USFWS) National Wetland Inventory (NWI). She holds a bachelor’s degree in earth science and a GIS Certificate from the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/staff/kate-truitt
Theresa joined the Great Lakes Commission in 2021 and is a program specialist for the aquatic invasive species program. She splits her time on multiple projects including the Great Lakes Phragmites Collaborative and the Great Lakes Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species.
Prior to starting at the Great Lakes Commission, Theresa worked as a Student Services Contractor for the U.S. Geological Survey where she worked on multiple projects related to reducing growth of the invasive Phragmites australis. Theresa holds a master’s degree in soil and water sciences from the University of Florida and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Bowling Green State University. Her graduate studies have focused largely on coastal ecology, including understanding the effects of boating damage on seagrass habitat and working on seagrass and oyster reef restoration projects.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/staff/theresa-gruninger
A federal grand jury has indicted two business rivals in Western Pennsylvania for alleged interstate trafficking in wild ginseng, a perennial herb whose root is valued for its reputed aphrodisiac and medicinal properties, including as a panacea or cure-all for some diseases.
The post Business rivals indicted for ginseng trafficking first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2021/09/13/business-rivals-indicted-for-ginseng-trafficking/
September 10, 2021
THIS WEEK: Water Safety and Affordability at the Local Scale: Hope for Chicago Residents + $20 Million to Replace Pipes in Benton Harbor – Is It Fast Enough? + Plastics Are Covering The Great Lakes In Great Volumes + U.S. Congresswomen Urge President to Stop Line 3 Pipeline Replacement + U.S. House Passes PFAS Action Act
There is a crisis in the city of Chicago that doesn’t make sense as the residents in its most vulnerable areas experience mass shutoffs throughout the communities that have one of the largest bodies of freshwater right in their backyard. The city of Chicago is offering help through their Utility Billing Relief programs, but this still has many falling through the cracks of the program because only homeowners in certain income requirements qualify. There is still hope for Chicago residents as the Water-For-All Ordinance is reintroduced to City Council.
This week Michigan’s Governor Whitmer announced funding to help replace lead lines in Benton Harbor, which has been experiencing high lead levels for three years. This is an important piece of the puzzle of keeping people safe from the harmful effects of lead which can cause learning issues, behavioral problems, kidney issues, increased risk of heart disease and more. However, Freshwater Future believes the five years it will take to replace those pipes is too long for residents to wait for safe water. In an interview with WSBT-22, Jill Ryan discusses that a robust corrosion control study and program are needed to ensure that lead levels can be reduced in the system in the short-term and filters, information and alternative water sources are all needed to keep people safe now.
We all are inundated by plastics these days. From grocery bags to produce containers to everyday items such as pens and computers to disposable and reusable water bottles, plastics are everywhere. As a result of all of this plastic production, plastics, including tiny pieces called microplastics, are also in our fish, our water and unfortunately in our tap water. This recent article by Eric Freedman discusses how these plastics are getting into our Great Lakes, and into our bodies!
Minnesota U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar, Michigan’s U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib and others held a news conference this week asking President Biden to stop Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 replacement project. The women expressed concerns about increasing climate change, possible spills into waters as well as violating Native American treaty rights. As with Line 5 that runs under water where Lakes Michigan and Huron meet, pipelines carrying fossil fuels not only present problems with spills such as the one that spilled over a million gallons into the Kalamazoo River, but they also continue our dependence on the very fuels that are causing the region to experience new extreme weather events costing billions.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the PFAS Action Act this week that would: create a drinking water standard for two types of PFAS—PFOA and PFOS—within two years; require corporate polluters and the U.S. Department of Defense clean up their PFAS contamination by listing PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under CERCLA or the Superfund Law; protect the Great Lakes, rivers and streams and air from PFAS pollution by limiting discharges of PFOA and PFOS into the environment; and create a voluntary label for PFAS-free cookware. While there is much more to be done to protect human health from this class of thousands of toxic forever chemicals, we applaud the House for this important step and look forward to similar action in the U.S. Senate.
Blog – Freshwater Future
https://freshwaterfuture.org/freshwater-weekly/freshwater-future-weekly-september-10-2021/
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/national-climate-202108
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Park District said it plans to put life rings along the Lake Michigan waterfront but only in areas that are considered safe to swim, upsetting the mother of a college student who drowned off a pier.
“I’m infuriated,“ said Maria Diaz, whose son, Miguel Cisneros, drowned last month in the Rogers Park neighborhood.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/09/ap-chicago-life-rings-risky-lake-piers/
Rivers, streams and lakes are warming, casting a dark shadow on the future of coldwater fish in the Great Lakes region. To save them, state and federal agencies around the Great Lakes are investing millions in these fish.
Currently, the Great Lakes are home to coldwater fish like ciscoes, walleyes, suckers, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, brook trout, brown trout, rainbow trout, chinook salmon and coho salmon.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/09/warming-water-grant-programs-fish-habitat-conservation/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Max Copeland, Great Lakes Echo
The fate of Traverse City, Michigan’s FishPass project will be decided in court. That’s after city commissioners decided not to put the question before voters in November.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/09/fishpass-november-ballot-appeals-court/
Fresh funds are being infused into the federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, promising a lasting effect on the humans who rely on the great inland sea and the fish that will swim in its cleaner waters. Read the full story by The Buffalo News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210910-funding
The St. Lawrence River community of Clayton, New York was visited on September 9 by University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability Associate Professor Dr. Andrew Gronewold. Dr. Gronewold visited the North Country to lead a discussion on findings from his research on water levels in the Great Lakes. Read and hear the full story by WWTI-TV – Watertown, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210910-water-levels
A collection of environmental and residential groups representing Benton Harbor, Michigan filed an emergency petition on Thursday with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to provide safe drinking water after three straight years of tests that exceed allowable lead levels. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210910-benton-harbor
On Sept. 8, 1860, the PS Lady Elgin collided with the schooner Augusta, resulting in the deaths of more than 300 people, making it the deadliest shipwreck in the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WDIV-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210910-shipwreck
In August, the average water levels on Lake Superior dropped less than an inch to 602.17 feet — matching its long-term average for the first time since April 2014. The lake was nearly a foot below water levels in August last year, falling 11 inches. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210910-superior
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) issued an order granting the City of Joliet a Lake Michigan Water Allocation Permit. This permit allows Joliet to begin using Lake Michigan water as its source of supply in 2030 and establishes annual allocation amounts through the year 2050. Read the full story by The Times Weekly.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210910-joliet
Residents, property owners, business owners, and all other interested parties are invited to join a virtual public workshop from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 22, that will focus on ways Lake Ontario shoreline communities in New York’s Cayuga and Oswego counties can work toward resilient approaches to shoreline management, land use, and development in light of extreme high and low water levels. Read the full story by The Citizen.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210910-ontario-workshops
Two more drownings in Lake Michigan over the Labor Day weekend bring 2021’s total to 77 drownings in the Great Lakes, as of Sept. 6. The data is collected by the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, which works to promote water safety awareness. Read the full story by the Holland Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210910-water-safety
The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois is seeking volunteers to help clean up Chicago’s beaches and shorelines throughout September. Read the full story by WFLD -TV- Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210910-beach-cleanup
Chelsea Rochman, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Toronto, co-authored a paper with other researchers published in the journal Science last September which estimates that between 24 and 34 million metric tonnes of plastic was released into the world’s oceans, lakes and rivers in 2020. Read the full story by Global News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210910-plastics
by Amy Heldman
With Chicago located right on Lake Michigan’s border, it comes as a shock to many that although we have this tremendous body of water in our backyard, many do not have access to running water. Skyrocketing water prices in Chicago have left many without access to the very thing that we need to keep us healthy and safe especially during the pandemic..
A 2019 investigation by WBEZ and American Public Media found that the cost of water in Chicago has tripled over the last decade, which was the highest rate as compared to six other Great Lakes cities examined in the investigation. Since 2007, Chicago’s water department has also sent more than 150,000 water shutoff notices. About 40 percent of those water shutoffs were located in 5 of Chicago’s poorest zip codes concentrated on the South and West Sides where residents are primarily low-income, black, and Latinx.
One attempt to combat this human rights violation is the “Water-For-All” Ordinance. After failing to pass in 2017, the Water-For-All Ordinance, reintroduced in 2019, offers both homeowners and tenants income-based credits toward their utility bills, regardless of their current citizenship status. It would also ban water shut-offs and tax foreclosures, as well as prohibit any privatization of the city’s water supply. Eligibility would be both homeowners and tenants whose annual household income is below 200 percent of the federal poverty line. This comprehensive approach is gaining support with 30 percent of Aldermen in favor.
The pandemic exposed the water access inequities happening in Chicago and the urgency to remedy the problems. In an interview conducted by María Inés Zamudio, Vernal Green explains that a fire hydrant is currently his only source of water. He carries his bottle of water back to his apartment where he uses it to bathe, wash dishes, and flush the toilet. Over two years ago water was shut off to repair a burst pipe, but the pipe was never fixed nor water service restored to his apartment. Residents like Mr. Green do not have the option of enrolling in a plan to get their water restored because they have no bills in their name. They count on their landlords to pay the city for water services. When their landlord does not settle an outstanding debt with the city, they are left with no water, in the midst of a pandemic.
A similar provision in Chicago is the Utility Billing Relief (UBR) program, which was launched in April by Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration. It offers those qualifying a flat 50 percent discount on their utility bills and also gives bill forgiveness after one completed year of on-time payments. Jeff Whitelow with the Chicago Water Alliance has been assisting residents with UBR program enrollment, but many people are simply not eligible to participate because of income threshold limits and not owning their homes.
The Water-For-All Ordinance would help make Chicago water a public good. Unlike the UBR program, the proposed ordinance encompasses all residents. It would allow all residents to afford and access drinking water that before was not possible. It is time to address water as a fundamental human right, not as a commodity to be sold.
If you would like to show your support for the ordinance, tell your Chicago City Council member to work with their colleagues to swiftly pass the Water-For-All ordinance by submitting your comments through Freshwater Future’s quick and easy online action form HERE.
To learn more about the City of Chicago’s Utility Billing Relief (UBR) program, visit Chicago Water Alliance online HERE. For additional information and resources, contact Jeff Whitelow, Chicago Water Alliance at jeffwhitelow@yahoo.com
Blog – Freshwater Future
https://freshwaterfuture.org/call-to-action/chicagos-water-for-all-ordinance-what-it-could-mean-for-the-future-of-chicago/
Wisconsin’s Sea Grant’s “Lake Talks,” a series of informal science presentations, returns for the fall season with an event on Thursday, Sept. 23, from 7-8 p.m. Kicking off the new season is speaker Jackson Parr, the J. Philip Keillor Flood Resilience-Wisconsin Sea Grant Fellow. His talk is titled “Understanding Flood Resilience in Your Community.”
The virtual event will be held on Zoom. It is open to everyone, though registration is required. (Register for this event now.) The hour will include time for audience questions.
The Keillor Flood Resilience Fellowship is jointly supported by Wisconsin Sea Grant and the Climate and Health Program at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS), where the fellow is stationed. The goal of the position is to boost resilience to flooding events in communities around the state—particularly smaller ones that may have less capacity or fewer resources to devote to this issue than larger municipalities.
Jackson Parr (submitted photo)
Parr’s topic is a timely one, as flooding and other damage from Hurricane Ida has captured the concern of the nation. While Wisconsin does not face hurricanes, other severe weather events have caused damage and displacement here. For example, widespread and significant flooding in the southern portion of the state in 2008 led to 31 counties being declared disaster areas. According to the National Weather Service, more than 40,000 homes and 5,000 businesses were damaged, and state officials estimated the total damage at more than $1.2 billion.
In his talk, Parr will describe a tool called the Flood Resilience Scorecard, which helps communities assess their level of flood preparedness through three lenses: environmental, institutional and social. The tool also assesses readiness for dealing with the health impacts that often follow floods. Parr and colleagues at DHS and Sea Grant work with communities on completing the scorecard, and, based on the outcomes, they help those communities take action to boost their readiness.
Parr is well-versed in Wisconsin communities as both a former Door County journalist and a two-time graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He holds master’s degrees in public affairs and water resources management.
Future Lake Talks this fall will focus on Wisconsin shipwrecks (October); Great Lakes children’s literature by Native American authors (November); and a conversation with Minnesota-based poet Moheb Soliman, who draws upon his Great Lakes travels in his work, including his most recent poetry collection, HOMES (December). Those talks will also be delivered via Zoom.
For Lake Talks event and registration information, visit the Sea Grant website, or follow Wisconsin Sea Grant on Facebook or Twitter. You can register for Jackson Parr’s talk now.
For questions about this series, contact Wisconsin Sea Grant science communicator Jennifer Smith.
The post Series of informal science talks returns with a focus on flood resilience in Wisconsin communities first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/series-of-informal-science-talks-returns-with-a-focus-on-flood-resilience-in-wisconsin-communities/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=series-of-informal-science-talks-returns-with-a-focus-on-flood-resilience-in-wisconsin-communities
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/humans-ncei-chris-paver
Application deadline: September 27, 2021 | Download PDF
The Great Lakes Commission (GLC) has an immediate opening for a self-starting, highly motivated team player to join our Water Quality and Water Infrastructure programs. The incumbent will assist with a wide range of projects focused on protecting and enhancing the use and enjoyment of the water resources of the binational Great Lakes basin and strengthening collective efforts to improve water infrastructure.
The senior program specialist will be responsible for a variety of activities in support of the GLC’s water quality and water infrastructure programming, including Blue Accounting, the GLC’s initiative to report on progress toward shared goals for the basin. Initial work will focus on data aggregation and analysis related to drinking water. The successful candidate will also support work to build a “blueprint” for water infrastructure investment and improvement and provide support for the Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program.
Specific responsibilities include:
A master’s degree with two years or more of relevant experience; or bachelor’s degree with at least five years of relevant experience is required, along with the following qualifications:
The ideal candidate would also bring one or more of the following skills and experience to the position:
Position Classification
The position is classified as regular; full-time as defined by the GLC’s personnel policies.
Compensation and Benefits
The salary range for this position is $59,000 – $62,000 per year depending on education, skills and experience. The GLC offers a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits, including generous leave time, flexible schedules, medical, dental and vision insurance, and a retirement match program.
Work Environment
The GLC is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is expected that the majority of work is performed in the GLC’s office; however, telework may be considered. This position requires occasional travel.
Applicants must submit their resume and a cover letter stating their interest in and qualifications for the position as a single PDF document via email to vacancy@glc.org. All required items must be provided for an application to receive consideration. No phone calls, please.
The Great Lakes Commission (GLC) is a binational government agency established by the eight Great Lakes states to protect the Great Lakes and the economies and ecosystems they support. The Canadian provinces of Ontario and Québec serve as associate members of the GLC. Its membership includes leaders from the eight U.S. states and two Canadian provinces in the Great Lakes basin. The GLC recommends policies and practices to balance the use, development, and conservation of the water resources of the Great Lakes and brings the region together to work on issues that no single community, state, province, or nation can tackle alone. Learn more at www.glc.org.
Equal Opportunity Employer
The Great Lakes Commission strives to create an inclusive, diverse and non-discriminatory workplace. The Great Lakes Commission is an equal opportunity employer; the Great Lakes Commission complies with applicable federal, state and local laws prohibiting discrimination. It is Great Lakes Commission policy that no person shall be discriminated against, as an employee or applicant for employment, because of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, marital status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/news/position-available-water-quality-2021
September 8, 2021, Benton Harbor, MI – Today Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced $20 million over the next five years to remove and replace lead service lines in Benton Harbor.
Over the past 3 years, Benton Harbor residents have been subjected to high lead levels, with the latest samples being as high as 24 parts per billion.
“While we thank Governor Whitmer for the $20 million to replace Benton Harbor’s lead service lines, the lead in water situation in Benton Harbor is and has been for the past 3 years a dire emergency,” said Reverend Edward Pinkney, President and CEO of Benton Harbor Water Council. “We have watched our children, loved ones, and my fellow community members be subjected to high lead in water levels. It has been a struggle to get our water utility to properly test and protect the community from these high levels of lead.”
The American Medical Association and CDC have determined there is no safe level of lead in drinking water. Impacts to children exposed to lead include neurological disorders, decreased cognitive behaviors, lower IQ, ADHD, and kidney disease and failure later in life to name a few. A number of studies have also linked lead poisoning to behavioral issues, such as aggression in children and teens, and criminal behavior as adults.
Over the past three years, Benton Harbor water has consistently exceeded state and federal standards in lead for drinking water.. In 2018, residents, with the support of Freshwater Future, formed the Benton Harbor Water Council to educate community members about the dangers of high lead in residents’ water. Together the Benton Harbor Community Water Council and Freshwater Future has consistently pushed the Berrien County Health Department to provide filters to the Benton Harbor Community Water Council to support residents in properly installing and maintaining water filters to protect themselves from dangerous lead levels in their water. Recently, the Benton Harbor Water Council worked hand-in-hand with the local school system to secure funding for water filter stations and reusable water bottles for students, highlighting the success of solutions driven by the community for the community.
“While the state has announced much needed funding assistance to replace lead pipes, what continues to lag is a robust enforcement program that should have required a thorough corrosion control study much earlier,” said Jill Ryan, Executive Director of Freshwater Future. “Without fixing the corrosion control problem first, residents will still be left with lead in their water until pipes are replaced.”
The groups are calling on the city, county, state, and federal government to do more to protect the residents of Benton Harbor, including:
Governor Whitmer must work expediently with EGLE and MDHHS to ensure these measures get put into place immediately and remain in place until the last private and public lead service line is replaced. No person should have to worry about whether or not their drinking water, a basic necessity for life, is tainted with lead.
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Blog – Freshwater Future
https://freshwaterfuture.org/uncategorized/immediate-release-benton-harbor-community-water-council-and-freshwater-future-call-on-governor-whitmer-to-fully-protect-benton-harbor-residents-from-lead/
NOAA Sea Grant, in collaboration with U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Geological Survey, announces six new partnership positions. The Sea Grant Federal Partnership Liaisons will integrate Sea Grant extension expertise with science, products and services from NOAA labs and other publicly supported scientific research programs. These jointly-funded positions expand on a key component of Sea Grant’s work, extending science to end users and doing so through collaborative partnerships.
“The Sea Grant Liaisons provide strong connection points between emerging research and interested parties to tackle some of coastal and Great Lakes communities’ most pressing issues,” stated Dr. Jonathan Pennock, director of NOAA’s National Sea Grant College Program. “By engaging user communities around the country, Sea Grant’s Federal Partnership Liaisons program harnesses the Sea Grant network’s strengths to inform the work of federal science and service agencies.”
Focus areas for the new liaisons include aquatic invasive species, climate resilience, offshore wind energy, aquaculture opportunity areas, harmful algal blooms and community science for underserved communities. They join three existing Sea Grant partnership liaisons who work in ocean acidification, tsunami and coastal resilience, and Great Lakes research with NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory and NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.
The positions announced today are the result of a competitive funding opportunity announced in 2020. These Federal Partnership Liaisons are as follows:
Wisconsin Sea Grant’s Tim Campbell will serve as one of the new liaisons. (Photo: Wisconsin Sea Grant)
Wisconsin Sea Grant’s Aquatic Invasive Species Outreach Specialist Tim Campbell will be the AIS Liaison. He will serve in this capacity part-time while continuing his current role with Wisconsin Sea Grant. As a liaison, he will work broadly on AIS outreach coordination for the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force, co-chaired by USFWS and NOAA. He will also work to strengthen Sea Grant connections with the regional aquatic nuisance species panels and assist with AIS work in the National Sea Grant Office.
In addition to closely aligning with Sea Grant strategic goals and Sea Grant Network Vision Plans, the Liaisons support shared priorities in sustaining coastal and Great Lakes communities. These positions will build on agencies’ efforts to address three of the Biden Administration’s Executive Orders, “Executive Order on Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis”, “Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad” and “Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.”
“EPA is excited to work with our federal partners to address critical water research needs in coastal communities,” said Dr. Wayne E. Cascio, Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for Science in EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “By working directly with communities, we can increase scientific knowledge and promote more inclusive public engagement in priority environmental concerns, including environmental justice and climate change.”
The Sea Grant Liaisons will serve as a resource to the public, helping to engage and educate communities. Learn more about Sea Grant’s Federal Partnership Liaisons here.
The post NOAA Sea Grant Liaisons address critical research areas across federal agencies first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/noaa-sea-grant-liaisons-address-critical-research-areas-across-federal-agencies/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=noaa-sea-grant-liaisons-address-critical-research-areas-across-federal-agencies
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Ramsar Convention, which commits countries to the conservation and “wise use” of wetlands, list and manage special sites called Wetlands of International Importance, and cooperate on transboundary wetlands and species. There are currently 2,429 Ramsar Wetlands of International Importance covering more than 983,000 acres in over 170 countries. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210908-wetlands
Canada is moving ahead with its first ever national adaptation strategy, the government aims to consult with Indigenous groups, youth and environmental organizations to create a framework for actions that businesses, governments and individuals can take to ensure the resilience of their communities. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210908-climate-canada
Minnesota U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar and congressional allies urged President Joe Biden on Friday to stop construction on Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 replacement, even as the project nears completion and the options to stop it dwindle. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210908-line-3
