Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2020/05/15/greater-appreciation-for-shipping-among-the-consequences-of-quarantine/
In Erie, Pennsylvania, a multimillion-dollar dose of relief and protection is coming to East Dobbins Landing’s shoreline. Construction has begun on a new $2.65 million dock wall along the edge of Presque Isle Bay. Read the full story by the Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200514-portauthority
Sobering new research out of New York’s Rochester Institute of Technology is deepening our understanding of the extent of Lake Erie plastic pollution. Read the full story by the Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200514-lakeerieplastic
As Lake Michigan’s waves relentlessly pound sea walls in Ogden Dunes, Indiana, emergency repairs have begun. Now the question is how the town can pay for all the work. Read the full story by The Times of Northwest Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200514-ogdendunes
Ohio’s Department of Natural Resources asked residents to help take a census of bald eagle nests in the state — the first such eagle census since 2012. The results: Ohio is now home to more than 700 eagle nests, up from 281 in 2012, and just four nesting pairs in 1979. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200514-savetheeagles
In Duluth, Minnesota, city parks and beaches could look a bit different this summer due to new guidelines to prevent disease transmission as well as drastic cuts to maintenance staff. Read the full story by the Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200514-duluthparks
As if shoreline erosion wasn’t enough, communities and property owners on Lake Michigan are now dealing with another problem due to record high water levels — trash. Up and down the lake, large amounts of it are washing up on shore. Read the full story by Interlochen Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200514-debris
Since February, 161 residential and business wells in Emmet County, Michigan, have been sampled for PFAS contamination. 14 of the wells have been found with PFAS contamination above the 70 parts per trillion that is allowed by the Environmental Protection Agency. Read the full story by WPBN-TV – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200514-pellston
After nearly two months of reduced access, restrictions and outright closures, thousands of national, state, provincial and municipal parks, boating ramps, wildlife areas and other outdoor recreation areas are making their return from COVID-19. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200514-recreation
Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2020/05/14/pandemic-teaches-appreciation/
After nearly two months of reduced access, various levels of restrictions and outright closures, thousands of national, state, provincial and municipal parks, boating ramps, wildlife areas and other outdoor recreation areas are making their return from COVID-19.
Officials are hoping the move will help push life closer to normal for millions of people.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/coronavirus-covid-19-great-lakes-outdoor-recreation-reopening/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
In this edition: Michigan Public Service Commission reigns in planned rate hike by DTE Energy, Michigan’s Lower Peninsula failed to meet energy grid reliability standards set by regional monitor, Hilco suburban development fined for failing to prevent pollution of Chicago canal, and renewables are forecasted to overtake coal as a leading source of electricity by the end of this year.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/great-lakes-energy-rate-hike-pollution-renewables/
Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2020/05/14/putting-a-positive-spin-on-challenging-times/
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news//news/global-climate-202004
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/global-climate-202004
In the classic game of rock, paper, scissors—during each round—one of these mock items formed by participants’ hands comes out on top. In thinking about groundwater and with a scientific twist, rock always comes out on top. That’s because it is an important factor in the nature of groundwater. As water moves in under-the-surface aquifers, toxic minerals—such as naturally occurring radium—can leach out of surrounding rock and into the water.
Matt Ginder-Vogel could be seen as a pro in the science edition of rock, paper, scissors. That’s because his research combines geochemistry with hydrology to understand the impact of drinking water well placement and what the surrounding rock has infused into that water. “I’m more of a geochemist,” he said as a way of labeling himself.
Thanks to the Wisconsin Section of the American Water Works Association (WIAWWA), he can now also label himself as an award winner because the professional organization that offers support for those who manage and protect water systems will confer its 2020 research award on Ginder-Vogel.
“I looked at the list of those who have won before. It is people whose work and body of research I respect and admire. It (the award) is really meaningful. I’m psyched to be among those people on that list,” said the professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Terry Vandenbusch, chair of the Research Committee of WIAWWA and a water quality analyst with Milwaukee Water Works, said the annual award is, “Given to recognize individuals who have made research contributions to water science and water supply. Wisconsin-based people working in or to the benefit of the drinking water industry. All of Matt’s overall body of work contributed to him becoming the 2020 WIAWWA Research Award Winner.”
He continued by noting that Ginder-Vogel and his research team, “have been evaluating how geochemistry affects sources of radium and its parent elements as well as laboratory methods that more precisely quantify radium species (226 and 228) in groundwater. Also, the work of his group pertaining to elemental cycling and mobility in general is very valuable to the water industry.”
Ginder-Vogel has been funded through the University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on three projects through what is known as the Groundwater Research and Monitoring Program (GRMP), which he termed “so important.” He said he appreciated past project reviews and funding, as well as “the consistent nature of the program. I got one grant that we turned into a National Science Foundation grant. Then we pulled in two students to work on this. They were NSF fellows. We turned a two-year project into a five-year project.”
That project had been focused on manganese and iron. His other GRMP project examined radium and well drilling. The third took a broader look at radium using a statewide dataset housed at the DNR. The projects are linked, Ginder-Vogel noted, because, “Water utilities are moving from shallow wells to deeper ones and there are the implications of those deeper wells. As we move to deeper wells, we have to appreciate what a deeper well might mean. There might be PFAS or other contaminants.”
The WIAWWA will confer the research award in September. In his acceptance remarks, Ginder-Vogel is likely to stress how he values collaborating with others on groundwater research—the DNR, Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey and the U.S Geological Survey to, “Push forward the knowledge. We want people to be aware, be cognizant and use the best possible water management to make sure the water is safe.”
News Release – WRI
https://www.wri.wisc.edu/news/uw-madison-geochemist-funded-by-the-groundwater-research-and-monitoring-program-wins-statewide-water-research-award/
Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2020/05/13/isolating-with-stocks/
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is preparing to hear from the public on Enbridge’s proposal to build an oil pipeline tunnel beneath Michigan’s Straits of Mackinac after determining the company submitted a complete application.
The Corps’ Detroit district office has scheduled a public comment period on the plan.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/ap-army-corps-public-comment-enbridge-line-5-pipeline/
2020 was supposed to be a banner year for Milwaukee’s cruise industry. Although some of the cruises have been cancelled, there still could be major economic benefits if they can begin operations later in the summer. Read the full story by WTMJ-TV – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200513-cruise
Crews are installing flood barriers near two water treatment facilities in South Haven, Michigan, to protect from rising water levels in Lake Michigan. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – South Haven, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200513-barriers
Lakes Michigan, Huron, St. Clair and Erie set new monthly mean water level records for April 2020, records which were previously set in the 1980s. Read the full story by WLNS-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200513-record
The lack of lake ice on Lake Erie this year and record high water levels have led to significant erosion issues in Presque Isle, Pennsylvania. Read the full story by WJET-TV – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200513-presque
The city of Gladstone, Michigan, recently received an enforcement notice to provide the state with a plan to fix previous sewer and wastewater issues that have occurred when the area received heavy rainfall that the city’s wastewater system was unable to handle. Read the full story by Daily Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200513-wastewater
The International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board is forecasting that water levels in Lake Ontario will peak between now and the next two weeks. Read the full story by Durham Radio News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200513-levels
The Flint City Council has approved the construction of a $14.7 million pipeline to supply Flint with clean water if its main transmission line is out of service. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200513-backup
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a replacement clean water standard, rolling back regulatory standards designed to protect community rivers, creeks, streams and wetlands that provide safe clean drinking water, essential wildlife and fish habitat, and recreational use and enjoyment for many people. Read the full story by MLive
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200513-wotus
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is preparing to hear from the public on Enbridge’s proposal to build an oil pipeline tunnel beneath Michigan’s Straits of Mackinac. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200513-enbridge
A broad coalition is coming together to seek investment in the Great Lakes region as Congress decides how to divvy up more coronavirus stimulus money. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200513-stimulus
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F4C686BA0.FrostAdvisory.125F4C68CE10WI.GRBNPWGRB.e20c9829ac3d34860e9631207ca620ff
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F4C683874.FrostAdvisory.125F4C68CE10WI.GRBNPWGRB.e20c9829ac3d34860e9631207ca620ff
Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2020/05/13/post-covid-19-plans-celebrate-birthday-annoy-the-cat/
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A divided Minnesota Supreme Court said Wednesday the state Department of Natural Resources has the authority to change the name of a popular lake back to its original Dakota name.
The state Court of Appeals ruled in April that the agency overstepped its authority in January 2018 when it changed the name to Bde Maka Ska.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/ap-supreme-court-dnr-name-lake-calhoun/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F4C67538C.FrostAdvisory.125F4C68CE10WI.GRBNPWGRB.e20c9829ac3d34860e9631207ca620ff
Prioritizing the health and safety of the Great Lakes and the drinking water it provides to over 30 million Americans must be part of federal government investments to recover from the devastating Coronavirus pandemic, wrote nine organizations, representing businesses, tribes, local and state government, and environmental groups, in a letter to ranking members of Congress. The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, representing hundreds of Great Lakes environmental groups, was a signatory to the letter.
“These are common-sense priorities for ensuring that everyone who calls the Great Lakes home has access to the basic need of clean drinking water,” said Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition director Laura Rubin. “As Congress considers stimulus measures to help America’s economy recover, it must recognize that investments in the Great Lakes and drinking water infrastructure will yield long-term environmental and public health benefits. We proudly join the groups who are signatories of this letter in urging Congress to support these clean water and Great Lakes priorities without delay.”
In April, the Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition sent Congress a letter calling for stimulus funds to be used in repairing aging water infrastructure and Great Lakes restoration activities that protect source water, as well as for the prevention of water shut-offs.
The post Coalition Supports Investments in Drinking Water, Great Lakes in Stimulus Bill appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.
Healing Our Waters Coalition
https://healthylakes.org/coalition-supports-investments-in-drinking-water-great-lakes-in-stimulus-bill/
By Walker Orenstein and Gabe Schneider, MinnPost, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
In late April, former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign held a virtual event with Minnesota supporters to promote the Democrat’s plans to address climate change and a clean environment.
But while U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/joe-biden-minnesota-mining-line-3-pipeline/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F4C5A8440.FrostAdvisory.125F4C68CE10WI.GRBNPWGRB.e20c9829ac3d34860e9631207ca620ff
Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2020/05/12/va-nurse-manages-telehealth-calls/
For the time being, the Toledo City Council will not be challenging a federal judge’s ruling on the Lake Erie Bill of Rights. Read the full story by WNWO – TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200512-lakers
A coalition of cities, business and labor leaders and environmental groups is calling on the Minnesota Legislature to provide at least $300 million to repair aging water infrastructure throughout the state. Read the full story by MPR News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200512-minnesota-pipeline
A team of Michigan State University researchers hope to make use of an unlikely tool in Michigan’s fight against the new coronavirus: human waste. Read the full story by The Bridge.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200512-corona-wastewater
As construction of the Great Lake Tunnel Project is set to begin in 2021, Earthjustice and Native American Rights Fund attorneys have filed a petition to participate as a party in the Enbridge Line 5 Tunnel Project proceedings. Read the full story by Up North Live.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200512-enbridge
As Flint’s city council considered a possible backup source of drinking water from Lake Huron, some councilmembers expressed concern that the lake may become contaminated. Read the full story by WEYI – TV – Flint, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200512-flint-water
Water levels in the upper St. Lawrence River are close to peaking well below the record levels experienced during the flooding of 2017 and 2019, the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority said on Monday. Read the full story by The Recorder and Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200512-stlawrence
With improved weather conditions, sea wall construction has been continuous along the Lake Michigan shoreline for the past month. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200512-seawall
The water level forecast into summer from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers shows a range of possible outcomes; with heavier than normal precipitation Lake Michigan and Lake Huron could reach the highest level recorded since the late 1800s. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200512-lake-levels
The $922 million passage now under construction at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, would be large enough to handle the 1,000-foot lakers that carry taconite from Minnesota and Michigan to steelmakers along the lower lakes. Read the full story by Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200512-lakers
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — As New York City confirms more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases a day, bucolic Essex County four hours north tallied its 32nd case since the outbreak. But the mountainous corner of upstate New York is under the same statewide lockdown rules as the pandemic-besieged city.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/ap-coronavirus-new-york-city-upstate-areas-reopen/
GREAT LAKES BASIN – In a letter sent today, organizations representing the Great Lakes states, tribes, binational agencies, state legislators, municipalities, conservation organizations, labor, businesses, and ports joined their voices in urging Congress to include critical Great Lakes investments in legislation to stimulate economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
“We urge you to invest in the Great Lakes to help our region and nation recover from the devastating coronavirus pandemic,” the letter reads. “Funding can be administered quickly through existing programs and swiftly generate job growth and new economic activity across the eight-state Great Lakes Basin. Environmental improvements, including ensuring safe drinking water for over 40 million people, will accelerate community recovery and revitalize the Great Lakes Basin economy while fueling the national economic recovery.”
Investments would modernize outdated water infrastructure to protect drinking water and public health; help communities respond to high lake levels and climate impacts; strengthen the Great Lakes navigation system; and accelerate funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to implement ready to launch cleanup projects that will spur economic development in coastal communities, while sustaining efforts to block the introduction of Asian carp and implement agricultural conservation practices to prevent harmful algal blooms.
These investments are endorsed by the Great Lakes Commission, Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority, American Great Lakes Ports Association, Great Lakes Metro Chambers Coalition, Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Legislative Caucus and BlueGreen Alliance. They reflect broader priorities for investing in the Great Lakes as an economic powerhouse and natural treasure that were released by the groups earlier this year.
The Great Lakes Commission, led by chair Sharon M. Jackson, Deputy General Counsel for Governor Eric J. Holcomb of Indiana, is an interstate compact agency established under the Great Lakes Basin Compact of 1955. The Commission is authorized by state and U.S. federal law and dedicated to promoting a strong economy, healthy environment and high quality of life for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Basin and its residents. The Commission consists of governors’ appointees, state legislators, industry and nonprofit leaders and agency officials from eight states and two provinces. Associate membership for Ontario and Québec was established through the signing of a “Declaration of Partnership.” The Commission maintains a formal Observer program involving U.S. and Canadian federal agencies, tribal authorities, binational agencies and other regional interests. The Commission office is in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Learn more at www.glc.org.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/news/joint-stimulus-051220
What the USGS is Doing
Crews are in the field to keep the USGS’s streamgage network of about 11,300 instruments working properly, perform on-site measurements of flooded rivers, and measure high-water marks as flood waters recede.
In the coming days and weeks, USGS crews will continue to monitor streamgages, make flood measurements in the field to determine how much water is flowing, and provide other data used for flood forecasting and flood-control reservoir management.
Flood Information is Critical to Public Safety
The data from the USGS’s nationwide streamgage network provides vital information to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the National Weather Service, and other federal, state and local agencies, enabling them to make river forecasts, operate flood control structures, and make important emergency management decisions. Frequent measurements are needed during flooding to document possible changes in the stream’s channel, which could affect the river level.
Responding during COVID-19
The response to spring flooding is complicated this year by COVID-19. The USGS is working to provide flood information that is critical to the public safety while also keeping employee safety and well-being a priority.
"Our field crews are working long days to help provide critical streamflow information for flood forecasting," said USGS National Flood Hazard Coordinator Karl Winters. "Despite the challenges associated with COVID-19, our field crews have made nearly 800 streamflow measurements per week over the last six weeks."
USGS water science centers are thoroughly evaluating needs for streamflow measurements and prioritizing streamgages most useful to flood forecasting and management.
Field crew partners are traveling to streamgage sites in separate vehicles, often with single-person crews, wearing appropriate personal protective equipment and practicing social distancing. Overnight trips are limited, so crews are often working longer days to make round-trip visits to sites. Crews are also leveraging the many tools made available to work from home and remotely meet with others when possible.
Despite the recent challenges, USGS crews made more than 20,000 streamflow measurements nationwide between January 1 and April 20, 2020.
Looking Towards the Future
As some states hit by severe weather begin to return to normal, others are preparing for what’s to come or dealing with continued flooding and the dangers that come with it. As snowpack is expected to continue to melt across the West and hurricane season begins on June 1, the USGS will continue to monitor stream conditions and use data collected to prepare for current and future flood events.
For up-to-date info on conditions in your area visit the USGS WaterWatch website. Sign up for high-water alerts at the USGS WaterAlert website.
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USGS News: Region 3: Great Lakes Region
USGS News: Region 3: Great Lakes Region
https://www.usgs.gov/news/usgs-responds-spring-flooding
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F4C598DC4.SpecialWeatherStatement.125F4C5B1270WI.GRBSPSGRB.3b77a733acfe35fc01f412b80021d336
