Hamilton’s mayor is calling on the federal government to reconsider a plan to install swing gates blocking access to two Burlington Canal piers that are popular for photos, strolls and boat watching. Read the full story by CBC.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210203-canal
The U.S. Coast Guard is warning people to be careful on the Lake Erie ice. The current thickness of ice on the lake “far below” the seasonal average of years past, creating “extremely hazardous conditions” for anyone who goes out there. Read the full story by the Sandusky Register.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210203-ice-warning
Great Lakes steel production fell by 6,000 tons last week, the second straight week of decline, and remains depressed by nearly 10%, with U.S. steel mills only operating at about three-fourths of capacity. Read the full story by the Northwest Indiana Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210203-steel
Ice cover in the Great Lakes is near record lows, and federal forecasters say there’s little chance it will bounce back to normal. Meanwhile, snowfall across the state has been well below average this winter. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210203-climate
Quagga and zebra mussels, known collectively as dreissenid mussels, have irrevocably changed the Great Lakes ecosystem and others they’ve spread to. But signs of a new normal are emerging as regular surveys of dreissenid mussels in the Great Lakes reveal a changing community of invaders. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210203-mussel
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI12618DFA0CC0.WinterStormWatch.12618E19C060WI.GRBWSWGRB.a5ba70f49f95368ff4bc880ac6cb1a9f
COVID-19 has affected many people’s sleep, whether they’ve had the virus or not. Sleep neurologists call it “COVID-somnia,” a phenomenon where people have trouble sleeping because of the virus. And its effects can last even after the pandemic ends.
The post Experts treat insomnia, anxiety caused by COVID-19 first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2021/02/03/experts-treat-insomnia-anxiety-caused-by-covid-19/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI12618DF90834.WinterStormWatch.12618E194B30WI.GRBWSWGRB.1ad4425b7e0135edaf4ad0f54ee4235a
Stephanie Smith, Freshwater Future’s Board Chair, talks about her recent collaborative work with scientists and groups in the African Great Lakes region. (Photo: Stephanie pictured with her family at Murchison Falls in Uganda.)
I looked out at the expanse of 90+ scientists from 17 different countries, most located around the seven African Great Lakes. They were seated around tables as relative strangers. I knew that once I asked my question, I couldn’t predict the range of responses, but I asked it anyway. “If we’re successful with this transboundary collaboration across the African Great Lakes region, what will the news headlines say in 5 years?”
I think a lot about big questions related to water. There’s an expression that says: “Water is life.” This is true, and water is also my life. After 17 years working on the North American Great Lakes, I now work as a global consultant facilitating collaboration for the health of people and the planet. My work emphasizes equity and justice that results in clean, accessible, affordable water and mitigates climate change impacts. I maintain my Great Lakes roots by serving on Freshwater Future’s board of directors.
For this event, I was in Entebbe, Uganda, working with the African Center for Aquatic Research and Education. We were laying groundwork for the first transboundary lake advisory groups for the African Great Lakes – a big step towards healthier lakes that many communities rely on for drinking water and fish.
Our event was a 10 minute walk to Lake Victoria, the second largest lake in the world by surface area – second only to Lake Superior. There are six other African Great Lakes (Albert, Edward, Kivu, Malawi/Niassa/Nyasa, Tanganyika, and Turkana), bordered by 10 countries. Every lake has at least 2 bordering countries, which brings an added geopolitical dimension. They comprise 25% of the world’s surface freshwater, even more than the North American Great Lakes. Fifty million lives depend on these lakes for their welfare and their livelihoods every day. The future of a lot of freshwater – and the people who depend on it – was at stake in this workshop.
Returning to my question about news headlines in 5 years, here’s what was unpredictable. I was asking meeting attendees to focus on the big picture of a future, multi-national vision. Many researchers and lake managers habitually focus solely on one part of their lake, within their country. And, they often focused on very specific aspects of that lake – that’s their job. The political relationships between some bordering countries are not always easy to navigate. My job was to help attendees develop what I hoped would become a shared future vision for all of the African Great Lakes. A successful collaboration depended on this perspective.
Researchers later told me that my “activity” wasn’t “what usually happens” at scientific meetings. But many saw the point. Because here’s what happened: despite their differences in perspective, geography, and focus, what they composed had consistently clear, cross-border unity with a collective vision.
Here are some of the headlines we saw emerge:
The next day, attendees began working together in groups that did not know each other, although these groups shared a common lake. What we all were beginning to realize was that they collectively held very common hopes and a shared vision for healthy lakes and communities.
Fast forward a year later – these groups now meet regularly. We are learning from each other. We are moving the needle on much needed progress for the African Great Lakes and those who rely on them. We continue asking big questions and try to address them, together:
Water connects us all. I serve on Freshwater Future’s Board of Directors because I believe deeply in the power of communities to protect and enhance global waterways so that all can access clean, affordable drinking water and be resilient as they face climate change impacts. This is work Freshwater Future does with head and heart fully engaged, resulting in vital systemic successes on the path to water equity.
Blog – Freshwater Future
https://freshwaterfuture.org/drinking-water/board-spotlight-stephanie-smith-board-chair/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI12618DEC5184.WinterStormWatch.12618E194B30WI.GRBWSWGRB.1ad4425b7e0135edaf4ad0f54ee4235a
Feb. 2, 2021
By Jennifer A. Smith
It can be easy to take clean drinking water for granted; we turn on our taps and simply expect it to be there. At the same time, safe water is priceless. Yet putting a price on water is just what environmental economist James Price is doing as part of a University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute-funded study. Specifically, Price is comparing the relative costs of protecting groundwater at it source versus treating that water at a plant.
“The overarching objective here is to understand the relationship between source water quality and the cost of treating drinking water,” said Price, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences.
This work will help groundwater community water systems in Wisconsin make smart, cost-effective decisions.
Over the course of his two-year study, which is in its early stages, Price will consider both short-term costs at treatment plants (such as labor and chemicals needed for water treatment) and long-term costs (like capital expenses). He’ll also factor in the connections between source water quality and the choice of specific treatment technologies.
Much of the data needed for Price’s analysis is publicly available, but it still needs to be compiled from various sources and reformatted in a way that will let him run his analyses. “The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin has a great data set on water treatment costs… and then the Wisconsin DNR has some information on source water quality,” he said.
Francesca Sanchez, a graduate student in the professional master’s degree track at the School of Freshwater Sciences, is aiding in the data cleanup that will make the project possible. That data may be supplemented by an internet-based survey sent to specific contacts at water treatment plants.
The study appears to be the first of its kind looking solely at groundwater (other cost-related studies on drinking water have looked at surface water, or a combination of surface and groundwater).
Groundwater is abundant in Wisconsin and it is a critical resource: seven in 10 Wisconsinites and 97 percent of the state’s inland communities depend on groundwater for their water supply.
Price is relatively new to Wisconsin, having arrived at UW-Milwaukee in mid-2019. Previously, he did a postdoctoral fellowship at Brock University in Ontario, where he worked on a project that was somewhat similar but not focused on groundwater. That project looked at the relationship between the cost of treating drinking water in Canada and turbidity levels driven by forest fires.
Then, he moved on the Environmental Protection Agency in Cincinnati and looked at different land uses around well heads, source water intake and their effects on water treatment costs. Study results suggest that forestland is associated with lower treatment costs, while agricultural and urban land are associated with higher costs.
Being able to incorporate capital costs in his current WRI-funded project will offer a new angle, said Price. Few prior studies have had the information needed to factor in those costs. He’s also hoping to look at a wider range of contaminants than many prior studies have.
The end result should be actionable information for local water providers in Wisconsin. “From a community water provider’s perspective, their goal is to provide clean water at an affordable price, and so they need to consider the relative costs and benefits of treating in-plant versus protecting water at the source,” he said. “I imagine that this information will be of interest to water providers who are considering source water protection, and they’ll be interested in what kind of benefit that might mean long-term, down the road.”
The post UW-Milwaukee researcher will help water utilities make cost-conscious decisions first appeared on WRI.
News Release – WRI
https://www.wri.wisc.edu/news/uw-milwaukee-researcher-will-help-water-utilities-make-cost-conscious-decisions/
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/
The Roger Blough, a Great Lakes freighter with a special place in history caught fire overnight in a Wisconsin shipyard where it is being stored for the winter. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-roger-blough
Restoring the Great Lakes is a real-life example of how working together can deliver concrete results and perhaps even some national healing. Read the full story by The Chicago Sun Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-great-lakes-protection
Last week, business owners and supporters of the Erie Canal were informed during an online stakeholder meeting that the canal may not open until Memorial Day this year and could close as early as mid-September. Read the full story by The Buffalo News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-erie-canal
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. met with a small group of Indigenous leaders, water protectors, concerned citizens, politicians and activists on Saturday to learn more about their opposition to the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline replacement project. Read the full story by The Bemidji Pioneer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-line-3-opposition
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will host a public meeting to discuss updating the Wisconsin Walleye Management Plan for Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, Washington, and Waukesha counties. Read the full story by the Lake Superior News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-walleye-management
New evidence of beaver activity has been discovered on the Trenton Channel of the Detroit River in Trenton, Michigan. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-detroit-river
Despite the freezing conditions, a couple of brave surfers went out into Lake Erie on Monday afternoon. Read the full story by WTOL-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-lake-erie-waves
The annual sturgeon fishing season will take place on Black Lake this Saturday at 8am in the northeastern corner of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. The annual harvest quota – which this year is six fish total – is often reached very quickly. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-sturgeon
Locals in the Sarnia, Ontario area are voicing concerns about the devastation that will impact their community if the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline is disrupted or shut down in May by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Read the full story by CTV News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-line5
A major natural way of protecting the shoreline to enjoy summer on Presque Isle is the formation of ice dunes which not only preserve the environment they are around, but also help protect from sand erosion. Read the full story by WSMH – TV – Flint, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210202-presque-isle
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/
The next River Talk will take place via Zoom at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10. Alexis Berke with the Great Lakes Aquarium will present, “A virtual visit: Explore the St. Louis River exhibits and animals at the Great Lakes Aquarium.”
Alexis Berke. Submitted photo.
Berke, director of learning and engagement, will offer a mini-guided tour of the St. Louis River exhibits at the aquarium that all ages will enjoy. Along the way, she will spotlight some of the estuary residents and highlight ways the aquarium works to make visits to their facility an inclusive experience.
Here is the Zoom link and info:
https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/97039831999?pwd=NUIreTAvV0d2b2ZVbTJnNnV4aFRMZz09 Meeting ID: 970 3983 1999
Passcode: 683032
The talk will last an hour and will include time for Q&A. The talks will be recorded and posted afterward on the Reserve’s Facebook page. A summary will also be posted on Wisconsin Sea Grant’s blog.
Other River Talks will be held on March 3, April 14 and May 12. The March talk will feature poets from around the country reading their river poems, held in conjunction with the St. Louis River Summit. For more information, visit the River Talks page: go.wisc.edu/4uz720.
River Talks are sponsored by The Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve and the Wisconsin Sea Grant Program.
The post Explore the St. Louis River exhibits and animals at the Great Lakes Aquarium first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.
News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant
News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/explore-the-st-louis-river-exhibits-and-animals-at-the-great-lakes-aquarium/
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/
The ongoing effort to prevent Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes has seen some recent momentum. Michigan, Illinois and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that they would collectively contribute $28.8 million to develop engineering and design plans during the next three to four years as a prelude to promised barrier construction at Brandon Road Lock and Dam in the Illinois River. Read the full story by The Columbus Dispatch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210201-carp-progress
After a harsh winter storm blew out a window in the very remote Stannard Rock Lighthouse in Lake Superior, a team from the U.S. Coast Guard recently traveling via Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City to make an icy repair. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210201-lighthouse-repair
A proposed increase in Minnesota’s watercraft registration fee would help fund additional aquatic invasive species management activities. Read the full story by the Public News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210201-ais-management
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced that it has chosen 100 lakes to be part of its Quality Sunfish Initiative, aimed at improving the size of sunfish. Read the full story by the West Central Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210201-sunfish-regulations
During 35 years of restoration in the Great Lakes Areas of Concern, there has been gradual progress and a hopeful future ahead, according to a new study. Read the full story by the Capital News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210201-aoc-cleanup
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources announced that it is offering grants of up to $150,000 to purchase and improve public outdoor recreation projects. Read the full story by Dayton Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210201-odnr-grants
Rising temperatures and the loss of ice cover is devastating the whitefish population of Lake Huron according to members of an advocacy group. Read the full story by The Sarnia Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210201-climate-change-impact
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is proposing to increase annual state park fees in order to cover their budget deficit. Read the full story by MPR News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210201-state-park-fee
As cold temperatures persist, Lake Ontario begins to see ice formations that form over slushy waters. The rounded shapes that almost resemble lily-pads or pancakes. Listen to the full story by WROC-TV – Rochester, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210201-pancake-ice
According to new data released by the Army Corps of Engineers, Lake Michigan’s water level is down 4 inches in the past month and 10 inches from one year ago. Read the full story by WLNS-TV – Lansing, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210201-lake-levels
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/
The collection of nature essays was recently selected by the Library of Michigan as one of the 2021 Michigan Notable Books.
The post A light to guide trees and people: “The Star in the Sycamore” is a broad take on the natural world first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2021/02/01/a-light-to-guide-trees-and-people-the-star-in-the-sycamore-is-a-broad-take-on-the-natural-world/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI126189B037D4.SpecialWeatherStatement.126189B0C0F0WI.GRBSPSGRB.e1ae724017be2a10443f5b652ce3656c
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI126189AFBFE8.SpecialWeatherStatement.126189B024B0WI.GRBSPSGRB.e1ae724017be2a10443f5b652ce3656c
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI126189AF4A54.SpecialWeatherStatement.126189AFC114WI.GRBSPSGRB.e1ae724017be2a10443f5b652ce3656c
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/
Michigan regulators announced the approval of two permits that Enbridge needs to build a tunnel underneath the Straits of Mackinac that would house a replacement section of the Line 5 oil pipeline. The tunnel must receive further state and federal approval before beginning construction. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210129-line5-tunnel
In Illinois, the Joliet City Council voted this week to select the City of Chicago Department of Water Management to provide Joliet with Lake Michigan water by 2030. Faced with a water supply that will no longer be sustainable by 2030, the City of Joliet launched a study of alternative sources of water in August 2018. Read the full story by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210129-chicago-joliet
After a challenging year of delivering limestone, coal ore, and other essential goods, the Great Lakes shipping industry finished the season strong. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210129-lakers
Record low ice formation on the Great Lakes has major consequences for the environment, including increased shoreline erosion, reduced fish spawning, and fewer ice fishing opportunities. Read the full story by the West Elgin Chronicle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20210129-low-ice
