Michigan says a company that runs a dam near Comstock must try to contain sediment that’s pouring into the Kalamazoo River, in violation of environmental regulations. Silt has been streaming out of Morrow Lake since Eagle Creek Renewable Energy lowered the reservoir last year to make repairs on Morrow Dam. Read the full story by WMUK – Kalamazoo, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200715-morrow-dam
Put-in-Bay, a popular tourist destination on Lake Erie, is seeing more COVID-19 cases linked to the town; after large-scale testing over the weekend, 66 people from the Put-in-Bay area have tested positive. Read the full story by Sandusky Register.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200715-covid-bay-tourism
Pennsylvania and Indiana led the return to camping in mid-May, and other states and provinces soon followed suit; the cascade of reopenings through the month of June has been followed by a flood of campers excited to get back outdoors. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200715-reopenings-outdoor
Wayne State University researcher partnered with Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research to test the ability of native water mites’ potential to control mosquitoes in two Detroit parks. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200715-mosquitoes-mites-control
Property owners in eastern Ontario are calling on their local and provincial governments for help handling an invasion of gypsy moth caterpillars; the red-and-blue-speckled caterpillars are an invasive species that can completely defoliate a tree, causing long-term damage. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200715-gypsy-moth-invasive
A ceremonial ribbon cutting was held Tuesday morning, marking the completion of a $6.2 million reconfiguration of Niagara Falls State Park’s welcome plaza improving mobility for pedestrians and access for vehicles making the park more mutually visible. Read the full story by NPR.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200715-niagara-falls-plaza
Thirty-three years ago, water levels on Lake Michigan and Lake Huron reached their highest point at 582.35 feet above sea level. The two lakes don’t appear ready to break the big annual record this year thanks to recent drier-than-expected weather across the region. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200715-water-levels
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/nasa-develop-summer-term-ncei
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news//news/nasa-develop-summer-term-ncei
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F58725974.SpecialWeatherStatement.125F58727850WI.GRBSPSGRB.e905ba1fbd1c8c6a64f3dce0e16f350e
Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2020/07/15/mighty-mites-might-manage-mosquitoes/
Officials in Canada are investigating the head-on collision between two cargo ships in Ontario’s Welland Canal on Saturday. Read the full story by GCaptain.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200714-ship-collision
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) has crafted a new plan to address double-crested cormorant conflicts. Read the full story by the Manistee News Advocate.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200714-cormorant-management
Great Lakes states and provinces have opened up their parks to overnight campers again now that COVID-19 closures have been lifted.
In March, national parks were closed in Canada, along with Ontario provincial parks. In the U.S., while parks remained open to visitors, facilities and many campgrounds were closed to the public.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/07/visitors-flock-parks-beaches-lakes-provinces-states-reopen/
A renewed focus on water quality emerged out of the 2014 drinking water crisis in Toledo, Ohio, leading to the creation of Smart Lake Erie. The project, led by the nonprofit Cleveland Water Alliance (CWA) and various partners, has echoes of the Jefferson Project at Lake George in New York. Read the full story by SmartCitiesDive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200714-smart-lakes
Multiple environmental groups say a Canadian energy firm hasn’t provided enough information for state regulators to decide whether to grant waterway and wetlands permits for a proposed pipeline relocation project in northern Wisconsin. Read and listen to the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200714-pipeline+relocation
The Cleveland-Cliffs Foundation has donated $10,000 to Phastar Corp. for the marine safety program that works with students from Davis Aerospace and Maritime High School in Cleveland, Ohio. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200714-Cleveland-marine-safety
Six Water Quality Extension Associates are working in northwest Ohio through a three-year grant to provide services to farmers in the western Lake Erie basin. Read the full story by WKTN – Kenton, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200714-ohio-services
The Ohio Department of Health, in cooperation with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, regularly puts out a consumption advisory index for sport fish caught in Ohio waters. The experts say Lake Erie walleye, along with yellow perch, crappie, and sunfish caught in most Ohio waters, can be consumed safely twice a week. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200714-fish-consumption
A 1,000-foot ship loaded with iron ore pellets ran aground on the base of the Duluth Ship Canal’s north pier Monday morning in Duluth, Minnesota. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200714-duluth-canal
A new collaborative, the Woody Invasives of the Great Lakes, needs your help to keep invasive plants like Bell’s honeysuckle and Oriental bittersweet out of the Great Lakes region. Read and listen to the full story by Lakeshore Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200714-invasives
Environmentalists contend the state Department of Natural Resources held a public hearing on Enbridge Inc.’s plans to reroute a northern Wisconsin pipeline prematurely.
Line 5 runs from Superior to Ontario, crossing about 12 miles of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa’s reservation in Ashland County. The tribe sued the company in 2019 to force it to remove the section of line on the reservation.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/07/ap-environmental-groups-question-enbridge-pipeline-hearing/
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/participating-2020-esip-summer-meeting
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news//news/participating-2020-esip-summer-meeting
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/global-climate-202006
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news//news/global-climate-202006
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Lake Michigan is having a warm summer.
The average surface water temperature was 75.3 degrees on July 9, setting a record for the month based on 26 years of record keeping, government scientists said.
The summer high is 75.6 degrees recorded in August 2016, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/07/ap-hot-summer-lake-michigan/
Effective on July 12th at 12 p.m., the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources at Presque Isle State Park will enforce a swimming restriction for Beach 11 due to the elevated Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria counts. Read the full story by WJET-TV- Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200713-presque-isle
Michigan boaters, swimmers and fisherman are expected to enjoy a prosperous year on Lake Erie, at least in terms of battling blue-green algae, after scientists recently predicted a moderate bloom of cyanobacteria in the waters this season. Read the full story by The Monroe News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200713-algal-bloom
Residents along the Lake Ontario shoreline have been on edge this time each year as they fear flooding from rising waters. However, that does not appear to be the case this year. Read the full story by WBEN- Newfane, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200713-Ontario-levels
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the 96th annual Port Huron-to-Mackinac Island Sailboat Race kicked off Saturday morning and made their way to the race’s starting point in Lake Huron. Read the full story by the Port Huron Times-Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200713-sailboat-race
Surface temperatures on the Great Lakes have warmed to above average following a week-long stretch of hot weather. Surface temperatures on Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario range between 75 and 85 degrees. Read the full story by WDIV-TV- Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200713-surface-temps
The municipality of Chatham-Kent, Ontario, has joined more than 80 communities from Ontario, Quebec and eight American states to seek billions of dollars in federal aid for shoreline and water infrastructure projects in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence regions. Read the full story by The Chatham Voice.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200713-shoreline-funding
Michigan taxpayers, business owners, and devastated homeowners shouldn’t bear the massive costs of cleaning up and rebuilding after floods caused by the failure of the Edenville Dam in May. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200713-mopping-midland
People submitted more than 300 names for the piping plover chicks hatched on Montrose Beach in Chicago, and the winners were revealed Saturday: Hazel, Esperanza and Nish. Read the full story by Block Club Chicago.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200713-piping-plover
Federal and local experts said Lakes Michigan and Huron may be at or near peak water levels before the seasonal drop is expected to begin later this month. Read the full story by the Traverse City Record-Eagle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200713-water-levels
The International Join Commission’s Great Lakes Science Advisory Board is working to develop a unified early warning system to “get ahead of the curve” on what problems the lakes may face in coming years and decades. Read the full story by the Grand Forks Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200713-early-warning
This week: Legislation to Address Water Access Focus of All About Water Webinars + Governor Whitmer Extends Water Reconnection To Year’s End + Great Lake Water Temperatures Spike Due to Heat + Michigan Airports Receive $2.5 Million In Grants For PFAS Testing + Wastewater Can Show Early Detection of COVID-19 Outbreaks
Hosted by Freshwater Future, the All About Water Webinars focused on policy solutions to address access to affordable, safe drinking water and how we can work together to ensure that water is turned on, stays on and is affordable. Visit our website to view the slides from presenters and links to recorded sessions.
Water as a Human Right Legislation Gaining Bipartisan Support in D.C.
Representative Rashida Tlaib shared on the All About Water Webinar that Republicans and Democrats are sponsoring legislation to continue moratoriums on water shutoffs while we are still fighting this pandemic. Water is essential for life and protecting public health. No one person should ever have to worry about whether they are able to put food on the table or have water flowing from their taps. You can urge your Congressional member today to support and work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to swiftly pass the Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity and Reliability (WATER) Act and the Emergency Water is a Human Right Act.
Governor Whitmer Extends Water Re-connection Order To Year’s EndThe number one preventive measure taken to fight against COVID-19 is washing our hands. Gov. Whitmer extended the water reconnection order until the end of the year to help people do exactly that. We know there are still people who have not been reconnected, and that there are groups including Freshwater Future working to change that. Great Lake Water Temperatures Spike Due to HeatSeveral days of sunny, hot, calm weather resulted in large portions of the Great Lakes warming significantly in some places over ten degrees in just five days. Astounding visuals and video forecast of how and where the Great Lakes temperatures have increased can be seen here. Michigan Airports Receive $2.5 Million In Grants For PFAS TestingFire-fighting foams containing the toxic chemical called PFAS have been used for decades to put out jet fuel fires. Fire department training and use of foams contaminated groundwater and drinking water. The Michigan PFAS Action Response Team is awarding municipal airports throughout the state grant funding for testing of PFAS contamination. Areas like Pellston, MI have been issued $250,000 of this grant due to known impacts on residential wells. Wastewater Can Show Early Detection of COVID-19 OutbreaksResearching human waste has proven to be an effective model for tracing and pinpointing COVID-19 infected populations before the area experiences an uptick in cases. In particular, targeting the asymptomatic group that unknowingly carries the virus and spreads it to more vulnerable populations is what makes this research that much more valuable. |
Blog – Freshwater Future
https://freshwaterfuture.org/uncategorized/freshwater-weekly-july-13-2020/
Fish and Wildlife Service News
Fish and Wildlife Service News
http://www.fws.gov/news/ShowNews.cfm?ref=restoring-minnesota%E2%80%99s-water-quality%C2%A0for-people-and-for-wildlife%C2%A0-&_ID=36729
Fish and Wildlife Service News
Fish and Wildlife Service News
http://www.fws.gov/news/ShowNews.cfm?ref=u.s.-fish-and-wildlife-service-first-federal-office-in-minnesota-named-&_ID=36598
Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2020/07/13/podcast-when-a-single-clone-caused-an-invasion/
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Lake Erie’s annual blob of pea-green algae is expected to be smaller this summer than a year ago following a relatively dry spring, but that doesn’t necessarily reflect significant improvement toward reducing the nutrient pollution that causes it, scientists said Thursday.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/07/ap-2020-lake-erie-algal-bloom-forecast/
ANN ARBOR, MICH. (July 10, 2020)—The Healing Our Waters Great Lakes Coalition is strongly supporting the U.S. House Interior and Environment funding bill, which passed out of committee today and contains substantial increases in clean water priorities, including Great Lakes restoration, drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, and lead-reduction in drinking water. The bill’s modest year-over-year increases are bolstered substantially by more than $11 billion in emergency supplemental funding for clean water programs in the bill.
“The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition fully supports the House Interior and Environment funding bill that was passed out of committee today,” said Laura Rubin, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “The bill substantially boosts federal investments in clean water priorities that will accelerate progress in restoring the Great Lakes, protecting our drinking water, improving access to affordable water, safeguarding public health, and bolstering the economy.
“The priorities in this bill are long-standing Coalition priorities, and we look forward to working with bipartisan members in the House to pass this legislation to better our environment and economy and to protect our public health.”
The Interior and Environment funding bill now heads to the full House of Representatives for consideration. The House is expected to vote on the bill later this month. The funding bill includes:
Regular Appropriations:
Additional Emergency Supplemental Funding:
The clean water priorities in the bill have been long-standing priorities for the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. The bill includes funding for fiscal year 2021, which begins October 1, 2020, and ends September 30, 2021.
The post Coalition Applauds $11 Billion Boost for Drinking Water, Great Lakes in House Bill appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.
Healing Our Waters Coalition
https://healthylakes.org/coalition-applauds-11-billion-boost-for-drinking-water-great-lakes-in-house-bill/
While Lake Erie’s harmful algae bloom forecast for the rest of this summer looks much better than last year, Michigan, Ohio, and Ontario are failing to meet agreed-upon milestones toward reducing nutrient loads in the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200710-lake-erie-algae-bloom
Nestle might be selling its contentious Michigan bottled water brand, but water rights activists in the Great Lakes region aren’t so quick to let go of the issue. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200710-nestle
President Trump has approved a major disaster declaration for Michigan’s Midland County and the surrounding area after Gov. Whitmer sent a 50-page letter to the president requesting funds to help rebuild the region following multiple dam failures in mid-May. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200710-disaster-declaration
An artist and member of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is being recognized for his work building traditional birchbark canoes. Read the full story by Post Crescent.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200710-ojibwe-artist
A court-ordered investigation on Enbridge’s Line 5 oil pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac found no indication of damage in the area of interest. However, a portion of the line remains shut down for federal investigation. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200710-line-5-pipeline
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection recently released their 2020 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report, cataloging the health of the state’s water. Read the full story by Erie Reader.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200710-pennsylvania-water
An iconic highway on Michigan’s car-free Mackinac Island, M-185, is just one of many casualties of high Great Lakes water levels that have wreaked havoc on public and private infrastructure statewide. Read the full story by Bridge Magazine.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200710-mackinac-island-iconic-highway
