Warming waters are hard on some fish, such as walleye, and more favorable to others, such as smallmouth bass. With so many environmental stresses, it’s difficult to gauge the future of individual lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/michigan-inland-lakes-ice-fishing-fish-less-ice/
Intense storm events and flooding are changing the ecology of rivers in the Great Lakes region.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/intense-storms-climate-change-harming-michigan-streams-rivers/
By Ilana Cohen, Climate Tracker
This story originally appeared in Climate Tracker and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.
Last November, youth climate activists helped elect U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/youth-climate-activists-biden-white-house/
BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Some residents in southwestern Michigan and the Detroit area will get plumbing repairs in their homes as part of a new initiative to reduce water waste.
Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy said the “Water Leak Pilot” program is expected to highlight the benefits of reducing water waste for consumers, water suppliers and the overall community.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/ap-pilot-michigan-program-reduce-water-waste-homes/
By Terri Cook, Eos
This story originally appeared in Eos and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.
During the mid-1930s, in the wake of devastating Dust Bowl–era storms, the U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/big-benefits-from-experimental-watersheds/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Taylor Haelterman, Great Lakes Echo
High school students, community groups and Lake Superior State University will use landscaping this summer to reduce pollution flowing into the St. Marys River.
The project recently received $250,000 from the United States Forest Service as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a program that protects Great Lakes drinking water and habitat.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/university-st-marys-river-clean-green-boost/
By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/water-biden-administration-deliver-environmental-justice-pledges/
The years-long saga surrounding Nestlé and its Michigan groundwater withdrawals comes to an end – in a way – as Nestlé withdraws from the situation, selling its North American water brands to another corporation.
Nestlé announced this week that it unloaded a number of U.S. and Canadian brands, including Poland Spring Brand 100% Natural Spring Water, Ice Mountain Brand 100% Natural Spring Water and Pure Life.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/nestle-north-america-bottled-water-brands-sold-investment-firm/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/pfas-fish-wildlife-researchers-michigan/
Salt-speckled sidewalks, driveways and highways are synonymous with winter in the Great Lakes region. But while road salt is highly effective at deicing surfaces, the safety that salt provides for humans places a heavy burden on freshwater ecosystems.
“We have an unhealthy addiction to road salt,” said Claire Oswald, a hydrologist and associate professor at Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/road-salt-reducing-usage-great-lakes-freshwater-ecosystem/
A year ago, the Pellston Youth Water Council, with the help of Freshwater Future, initiated an investigation sampling water in homes near the Pellston Regional airport, discovering high concentrations of toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Recently, over a gallon of PFAS was released into the environment after a firefighting testing incident at the same airport. For a community already dealing with filters and alternative water sources for their needs, additional spills of these substances only heighten concerns. While Michigan has set drinking water standards for several types of the more than 5,000 types of PFAS, more safeguards are needed in airports and other locations with high PFAS use. Checkout our PFAS regulatory chart to see where different jurisdictions in the Great Lakes region fall in regulating these harmful chemicals.
Chicago wins the $30 million a year deal securing it as a water supplier for Joliet, IL. The needed regional water infrastructure upgrades are expected to triple Joliet’s residential water rates in the coming decade. For those wondering why Joliet doesn’t have to meet the requirements of the Great Lakes Compact in order to receive this Great Lakes water in a city outside of the Great Lakes basin, it is because of Chicago’s Supreme Court consent decree that allows the state of Illinois to determine where the water allocated through the decree is utilized.
Due to COVID-19, some cities have been hit hard economically, and Pickering, Ontario is no different. The municipality however, has been quietly ‘cutting red tape’ to bypass the opportunity for input of the community by using “Minister’s Zoning Orders,” which bypass normal planning processes, including the right of residents to appeal. As a result, wetlands are in peril of being destroyed in order to build new development projects. The community is concerned that without wetlands during stints of heavy rain or heavy snow melt, excess water would have no choice but to flood nearby home basements and increase erosion to shoreline communities.
Please meet Freshwater Future’s Board Chair, Stephanie Smith. Smith has an unwavering commitment to water, Freshwater Future, and our Great Lakes partners and communities. Throughout her career, her reach has extended across the world to over 17 different countries with the same goal of water protection.
Join us on February 25, 2021 at 10am EST to learn more about Freshwater Future’s grant programs. This informal webinar will provide a brief overview of our grants programs and how to apply. There will be plenty of time for questions and answers. In the meantime, check-out Freshwater Future’s 2021 Grant Opportunities guidelines to see if your organization is eligible.
Blog – Freshwater Future
https://freshwaterfuture.org/freshwater-weekly/freshwater-weekly-february-12-2021/
Michigan and the Great Lakes region — with an abundance of fresh water, warming winters and less fire-prone forests — stand to attract millions of new residents in the coming years looking to escape flooded coastal areas and the parched land of the West.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/water-great-lakes-climate-refuge-prepared/
Are you a Detroit high school student interested in the environment, TV production and planning community events?
(Or maybe you know one and could share this with them?)
With funding from PBS Education, Great Lakes Now and the Belle Isle Conservancy are offering a paid internship for a high school student to help plan the April 24 Spring Clean Up on Belle Isle event AND produce a video about it to help other students and organizations have similar events to raise environmental awareness.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/pbs-great-lakes-now-belle-isle-conservancy-high-school-intern/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Eric Freedman, Capital News Service
A former top-ranking Michigan official is now overseeing national energy policy — again.
This time it’s the Biden administration’s new Secretary of Energy, former Democratic Gov.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/former-michigan-governor-leads-national-energy-policy/
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — As Indiana lawmakers debate dozens of bills addressing environmental matters, tensions are flaring over whether the state should adopt greener initiatives or step back current policy affecting water, energy and other resources.
While some measures in the General Assembly could bring reductions to Indiana’s carbon emissions and make stricter penalties for polluters, others would spur regulatory rollbacks that environmental advocates say could have long-lasting and damaging effects.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/ap-indiana-lawmakers-debate-environmental-regulation-rollbacks/
By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/high-demand-new-michigan-water-infrastructure-grants/
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:
A series of water main breaks in Joliet this week prompted a boil water order in case of cross contamination during repairs.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/drinking-water-waukesha-lake-michigan-groundwater-contamination-ontario/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/pfas-minnesota-biden-epa-regulations/
By Steve Carmody, 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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/glwa-dwsd-oakland-county-overflows-rouge-river/
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — Twenty-six people fishing on Lake Superior were rescued when an ice floe broke away from the Minnesota shoreline, stranding them in frigid weather.
The Duluth Fire Department got a call Tuesday morning from a resident who saw ice shanties floating away. Crews brought the anglers to shore a few at a time by boat.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/ap-26-rescued-ice-floe-lake-superior-minnesota/
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/pfas-house-toxic-forever-chemicals-home/
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal judge has rejected another attempt by opponents to shut down construction work on Enbridge Energy’s replacement for its aging Line 3 crude oil pipeline across northern Minnesota.
In an order filed Sunday, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said tribal and environmental groups that filed for an injunction in late December to suspend construction failed to prove any permanent harm would result from allowing the work to proceed or that they’re likely to win on their broader legal arguments.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/ap-judge-blocks-shut-down-line-3-construction/
Detroit’s Michelle Martinez is acutely aware of the patience needed when your profession is advocating for environmental justice, the fair and meaningful involvement of all people related to environmental laws and policies.
Martinez is acting executive director and statewide coordinator for the grassroots Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition.
It was 1994, almost three decades ago, that President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 12898 putting the federal spotlight on environmental justice.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/detroit-advocate-hopeful-environmental-justice-progress-decades-inertia/
By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/epa-nominee-collaboration-senate-confirmation-hearing/
STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (AP) — The Clinton River, which runs through parts of Macomb County, is one of three southeastern Michigan rivers expected to be studied as part of an effort to improve water quality and wastewater treatment in the region.
The monitoring is part of the Great Lakes Water Authority’s Regional River Water Quality Monitoring Program, according to the Macomb County Public Works office.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/ap-program-study-clinton-river-water-quality/
It could be weeks before Michigan’s commercial fishing outfits can get back to catching whitefish – but even then they’re not sure what’s left of the season will save their businesses.
That’s because they’re tied up in a legal fight over the rules of their game – rules imposed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources in January that limit when and where commercial fishers can operate in the Michigan waters of the Great Lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/michigan-commercial-fishers-mdnr-rules-court/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Yue Jiang, Great Lakes Echo
They glide over the lake, waiting for the best time to catch fish.
In the blink of an eye, they dive into the water without hesitation.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/u-s-canadian-researchers-birds-conservation-research/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Kalah Harris, Great Lakes Echo
Herring gulls are aquatic birds that feed at the water’s surface and so are restricted to feeding on prey fish at the surface and shallow nearshore waters.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/herring-gull-eggs-monitor-great-lakes-ecosystems/
By Steve Carmody, 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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/task-force-delays-report-recommending-changes-to-michigan-dam-safety-regulations/
By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/mass-aging-dams-global-safety-financial-risk-un-report/
The way J. Ellen Marsden remembers it, when she first suggested calling a new Great Lakes invasive species the quagga mussel, her colleague laughed, so the name stuck.
At the same time, it was no laughing matter. The arrival of a second non-native mussel, related to the already established zebra mussel, was a major complication in what was becoming one of the most significant invasive species events in American history.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/invasive-mussels-legacy-beyond-great-lakes/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/michigan-thin-ice-climate-experts/
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine unveiled a two-year, $75 billion state budget on Monday that includes a $1 billion initiative to help bring the state back from the economic downfall of the pandemic.
The budget proposal was crafted “with the goal of emerging even stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic,” DeWine said as he announced the plan with Lt.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/ap-highlights-ohio-governor-proposed-2-year-spending-plan/
Polluting factories go uninspected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Leadership positions sit vacant at the U.S. Geological Survey’s climate science centers. And U.S. Department of Agriculture research into environmental issues important to farmers is unfinished.
The ranks of scientists who carry out environmental research, enforcement and other jobs fell in several agencies — sharply in some — under former President Donald Trump, federal data shows.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/ap-biden-environmental-challenge-vacant-scientist-jobs/
MILWAUKEE (AP) — National Weather Service officials said Sunday that a winter storm moving across southeastern Wisconsin along with a system earlier in the week and lake-effect precipitation has left Milwaukee and other areas with snow depth totals not seen in 10 years.
Up to 10 inches of snow has fallen in parts of Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine and Kenosha counties, the weather service said.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/ap-wisconsin-snow-depth-totals-10-years/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/pfas-michigan-indigenous-wisconsin-fish-dnr-legislation/
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.
As recently as the 1980s, a small backwater on the Trenton Channel of the Detroit River in Trenton, Michigan, was so polluted and toxic that scientists named it the Black Lagoon.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/beavers-detroit-river-black-lagoon-restoration/
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:
The city council in Joliet, Illinois has chosen Chicago to be its next water source, despite efforts by Hammond officials to persuade them otherwise.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/chicago-lake-michigan-minnesota-road-salt/
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s environmental agency said Friday it has approved construction of an underground tunnel to house a replacement for a controversial oil pipeline in a channel linking two of the Great Lakes.
The decision, a victory for Enbridge Inc., comes as the Canadian company resists Democratic Gov.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/ap-michigan-approves-great-lakes-oil-pipeline-tunnel-permits/
The Enbridge Line 5 tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac today got another step closer to being built.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) announced its approval of the permits that Enbridge is required to have to build the replacement tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/egle-approves-permits-enbridge-line-5-tunnel/
By Caroline Llanes, 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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/great-lakes-low-ice-cover/
For Immediate Release
January 28, 2021
Contact:
Jill Ryan, Executive Director
(231) 348-8200
Jill@freshwaterfuture.org
Petoskey, MI – Today Representatives Rashida Tlaib and Debbie Dingell re-introduced the Emergency Water is a Human Right bill. The legislation prohibits any public utility receiving federal funds authorized under the act from turning off energy and water services to Americans who cannot afford to pay their utility bills during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, it creates a Low-Income Household Drinking Water and Wastewater Assistance Program for residents struggling to pay their water utility bills.
Jill Ryan, Executive Director of Freshwater Future, states, “We applaud Representatives Tlaib and Dingell for introducing legislation to keep water services flowing to Americans who cannot afford to pay their utility bills during the COVID-19 pandemic. An unprecedented number of Americans are out of work, have children learning remotely, and many are without access to running tap water in their homes. Clean, safe, and affordable water is essential to good public health and our economy. “
Ryan also notes, “A recent study confirms that a moratorium on utility disconnections reduces COVID-19 infections and saves lives. We urge Congress to swiftly pass the Emergency Water is a Human Right legislation and look forward to working with our partners and Representatives Tlaib and Dingell to ensure all Americans have access to clean, safe, and affordable water during and after COVID-19.”
A full text of the bill can be found here.
####
Blog – Freshwater Future
https://freshwaterfuture.org/drinking-water/freshwater-future-applauds-congresswomen-tlaib-dingells-reintroduction-of-emergency-water-is-a-human-right/
Since the late 1980s, four of the five Great Lakes have played host to an increasing number of invasive mussels. First came zebra mussels, followed shortly thereafter by quagga mussels, both members of the Dreissenid family whose native range includes the waters around Ukraine.
Today, the filter-feeders comprise more than 90% of the total animal biomass of the Great Lakes (barring Lake Superior, whose depth and water chemistry make it a less suitable habitat for the two species of mussel).
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/invasive-mussels-phosphorus-chemistry-great-lakes/
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Tests have revealed elevated levels of man-made chemicals known as PFAS in Madison-area lakes, state environmental officials said Thursday.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources collected samples last year from lakes Mendota, Monona, Upper Mud, Waubesa and Kegonsa, as well as along sections of the Yahara River between the lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/ap-tests-reveal-elevated-pfas-levels-madison-lakes/
The Great Lakes’ iconic freighters remained common sights on the waters – that much didn’t change during pandemic. But, like many industries, shipping was hit hard by COVID-19. That feels especially salient when shipping is such an integral piece of the Great Lakes economy.
As of September 2020, iron ore cargoes were “down 27% from last year at this time,” James Weakley, president of the Lake Carriers’ Association and representative of Ohio on the Great Lakes Commission, said in an interview with Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/shipping-industry-infrastructure-investments/
With COVID-19 vaccines rolling out, many people are shifting their worries to the economy and how to recover from the state that it has been left in – with numerous local and regional industries gutted after this past summer.
“Until we start working together and work together to make sure that we keep the pandemic down while the vaccine is coming in, we’re not going to be able to rebuild this economy for quite some time,” John Dickert of the Alliance for Regional Development in a Great Lakes Now interview.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/covid-19-concerns-economic-recovery-plagues/
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The state Department of Natural Resources policy board narrowly refused Republican legislators’ request Friday to implement a wolf hunt immediately, citing concerns that the department can’t move that fast and Wisconsin’s Native American tribes haven’t been consulted as per treaty rights.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/ap-wisconsin-dnr-board-refuses-early-wolf-hunt/
The long-term impact of the Trump administration on the Great Lakes environment remains a big question – particularly when President Donald Trump was still rolling back environmental protections in the last few months of his term.
Over the length of his term, Trump rolled back a number of rules and regulations, and enforcement of the ones that remained dropped.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/lack-enforcement-compliance-environmental-laws-more-pollution/
Images related to Great Lakes Restoration Initiative projects are powerful and well-known: jumping Asian carp, overflowing sewage and pollution flowing into waterways and lakes, invasive mussels clogging water infrastructure and blanketing shipwrecks.
But with its hundreds of millions of federal dollars, the initiative is helping to prevent non-native species from invading, support clean up, restore habitat and more.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/federal-tax-dollars-funding-great-lakes-restoration-initiative/
Water levels are swinging from one extreme to another. The Great Lakes are looking at an iceless, warm winter. Severe storms are hitting more frequently.
Climate change has been a contentious issue for the Great Lakes region – and the rest of the nation – as people debate the severity, impacts and need for action.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/crisis-response-president-biden-approach-climate-change/
