While the city has found no evidence of rogue sewage spills, an overwhelmed sewer system in the lower city that combines storm water and sewage in the same pipes has overflowed 44 times this year. Read the full story by the Hamilton Spectator.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220523-smellyalgae-hamilitonwestharbour
Corälee Allaert, a 22-year-old University of Guelph student, has decided to tackle a big challenge to make something positive in her life. She will be swimming across two of the Great Lakes to commemorate the youth who have lost their lives to suicide. Read the full story by Guelph Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220523-swimming-greatlakes
EDITORIAL – The rise in fuel prices has prompted renewed interest in expanding container shipping at America’s Great Lakes ports, like Duluth and Cleveland. There is potential for Port of Duluth to develop containerized dry bulk agricultural exports to Europe, where growing numbers of customers are willing to take delivery of containers of agricultural produce. Read the full story by The Maritime Executive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220523-greatlakes-containershipping
Ohioans across the state are struggling to afford their water and sewer bills. A first-of-its-kind case study finds that water bills are pushed even higher for communities that pull their drinking water from Lake Erie due to harmful algal blooms caused by upstream agricultural pollution. And the costs are not insignificant. An analysis by the Alliance for the Great Lakes found that a family of five in Toledo is paying roughly an additional $100/year in their water bill because of this pollution problem. The case study illuminates the fact that downstream water users are paying a real cost for managing a pollution problem they did not create, compounding water affordability issues faced by many Ohioans.
Each summer, western Lake Erie experiences massive algal blooms which can produce harmful toxins that threaten drinking water supplies. These blooms are fueled by excess nutrients flowing off upstream agricultural lands into the lake.
The harmful algal blooms (HABs) in western Lake Erie can produce harmful cyanotoxins, a common one being microcystin. These toxins are a serious threat to human and animal health. Microcystin is a potent liver toxin and a possible human carcinogen. Cyanotoxins can also kill livestock and pets that drink affected waters.
Almost eight years ago, toxins from an algal bloom got into the drinking water systems of Toledo, Ohio. On August 2nd, 2014, more than half a million Toledo-area residents were ordered not to drink or even touch their water. The order lasted for nearly three days. A few weeks later, residents of Pelee Island, Ontario faced a similar crisis lasting nearly two weeks.
To ensure drinking water safety, drinking water facilities that draw water from Lake Erie have put into place additional monitoring and treatment, which can cost millions of dollars. This is a very real financial burden for drinking water facilities, which gets passed on to ratepayers.
These additional costs – which are critical to ensure safe drinking water – add up. The Alliance’s analysis found the additional annual average per-capita cost for HAB-related monitoring and treatment for Ohio residents who get their drinking water from Lake Erie is $10.48. For Toledo-area residents, the additional cost jumps to $18.76 per year, which translates to almost $100 extra per year on a water bill for a family of five. The case study is based on data from a 2020 survey administered by the Ohio Department of Drinking and Groundwater.
Downstream ratepayers, many of whom are already struggling to pay their water bills, should not have to shoulder the financial burden of addressing this pollution problem. And the longer this pollution problem continues, the costs will only increase as the water quality in western Lake Erie continues to degrade.
The case study identified three lessons learned from the analysis. They are:
The post New Study: Downstream Water Users Bear Financial Burden of Upstream Pollution appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
https://greatlakes.org/2022/05/new-study-downstream-water-users-bear-financial-burden-of-upstream-pollution/
“Glenn’s Island” in the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh was formed of sludge illegally discharged from the nearby Aspinwall Drinking Water Plant. And some plant employees nicknamed it for retired supervisor Glenn Lijewski, who is awaiting sentencing for conspiracy to violate the Clean Water Act.
The post Alleghany River polluter cops plea in sludge ‘island’ case first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/05/23/alleghany-river-polluter-cops-plea-in-sludge-island-case/
By Matthew Brown and Matthew Daly, Associated Press
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — President Joe Biden’s order to protect the nation’s oldest forests against climate change, wildfires and other problems devastating vast woodlands is raising a simple yet vexing question: When does a forest grow old?
Millions of acres are potentially on the line — federal land that could eventually get new protections or remain open to logging as the administration decides which trees to count under Biden’s order covering “old growth” and “mature” forests.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/ap-biden-forest-plan-dispute/
The Great Lakes have been receding from record high water levels over the past few years. The amount of water that has left the Great Lakes is staggering. Each Great Lake peaked in a different year, and each of the Great Lakes’ water levels have fallen from there. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220520-lakemichigan-lakehuron-waterloss
Fishing reports from charter captains and walleye tournament anglers have spotlighted the outstanding early-season walleye fishing in the deeper waters of the Central Basin of Lake Erie. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220520-lakeerie-walleyefishing
The round goby, a prolific and destructive invasive fish, has spread from the Great Lakes all the way to the Hudson River. New York’s canal operators are trying to keep it from invading Lake Champlain too. Read the full story by The River.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220520-roundgoby-hudsonriver
The round goby, a prolific and destructive invasive fish, has spread from the Great Lakes all the way to the Hudson River. New York’s canal operators are trying to keep it from invading Lake Champlain too. Read the full story by The River.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220520-roundgoby-hudsonriver
Fishing seasons for muskellunge begin on June 1 in inland waters and June 15 in the Great Lakes waters of Lake Erie, Upper Niagara River, Lower Niagara River, Lake Ontario, and the St. Lawrence River. Read the full story by The Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220520-muskieseason-greatlakes
Fishing seasons for muskellunge begin on June 1 in inland waters and June 15 in the Great Lakes waters of Lake Erie, Upper Niagara River, Lower Niagara River, Lake Ontario, and the St. Lawrence River. Read the full story by The Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220520-muskieseason-greatlakes
Michigan Senator Gary Peters has introduced legislation to strengthen federal pipeline safety measures and mandate better oil spill cleanup methods. The new legislation is called Preventing Releases of Toxic Environment Contaminants Threatening Our Great Lakes Act – called PROTECT for short. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220520-legislation-preventoilspills-greatlakes
Fish caught in certain areas of Akwesasne should not be consumed. This is based on a warning from the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe’s Environment Division. Read the full story by ABC50 NOW.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220520-contaminatedfish-ny
Just how big an underinvestment Ontario is facing when it comes to the state of its drinking and wastewater infrastructure is difficult to tabulate. Some estimate the province is investing billions of dollars less than what’s needed to keep the system running smoothly. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220520-ontario
Experts say Michigan needs deep changes to water policy and financing, such as reducing the number of water systems, collecting and cataloging performance data, and ensuring the poorest residents can afford their bills. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220520-drinking-water
The first U.S. Navy vessel to dock in the local port since 1993, when the Navy conducted regular Great Lakes tours, was outlined in festive bunting Thursday as it docked on Rice’s Point. The hulking, nearly 400-foot war ship USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul is scheduled to be commissioned into the Navy during a ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday in Duluth, Minnesota. Read the full story by The Bemidji Pioneer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220520-warship-duluth
Algal blooms can become toxic under the right conditions. Researchers project an average bloom in 2022 based on current observations and rain forecasts. Read the full story by WDET – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220520-lakeerie-algaebloompredictions
Great Lakes ports are seeing a major jump in agriculture exports as the war in Ukraine’s ripple effects on global grain markets continue to play out. Read the full story by Michigan Farm News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220520-greatlakesshipments
From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the boat will focus on cleaning up Lake Michigan, Green Bay, and the Fox River. They’ll specifically target areas around marinas, where they expect to find concentrations of litter. Read the full story by Spectrum News 1.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220520-pollutionvessel-greatlakes
By Tara Lohan, The Revelator
This story originally appeared in The Revelator and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.
This month regulators greenlighted a transmission line that would bring power generated from Canadian hydroelectric dams to New York City.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/stock-methane-emissions-reservoirs/
ST. PAUL (AP) — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday activated the National Guard to help control record flooding in areas of northeastern Minnesota.
Emergency management officials in St. Louis and Koochiching counties requested the assistance to deal with high water caused by heavy spring rains and rapid snowmelt throughout the Rainy River Basin.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/ap-national-guard-minnesota-flooding/
Geo Rutherford is a self-described Great Lakes enthusiast that built a large following—the same number that the Washington Post has—by making educational TikTok videos about the Great Lakes and other lakes around the world.
The post Spooky lakes and beach trash: How a Wisconsin teacher and artist gained 1.3 million TikTok followers first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/05/20/spooky-lakes-and-beach-trash-how-a-wisconsin-teacher-and-artist-gained-1-3-million-tiktok-followers/
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:
Illinois American Water is investing over $3 million to replace over 8,600 feet or 1.6 miles of water main throughout the Sterling Water System.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/drinking-water-news-roundup-illinois-water-system-coal-ash-indiana/
By Shawn McCarthy, Corporate Knights
This story originally appeared in Corporate Knights and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.
Canada must make up for lost ground if it’s going to meet its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 45% from 2005 levels by 2030.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/canada-ranks-last-climate-progress/
Groundwater pollution project is first to use cancer imaging technology in novel way
A Wisconsin Water Resources Institute project is exploring how bacteria and other water contaminants flow through soil by applying a medical technology widely used for cancer imaging.
Chris Zahasky, assistant professor in the Department of Geoscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, received two years of funding to study soil types in the two most vulnerable geologic settings in Wisconsin for groundwater pollution. Those are the Central Sands district, which features sandy soil, and Kewaunee County along Lake Michigan, which features fractured bedrock. Zahasky is investigating how E. coli bacteria – one of the main water contaminants in Wisconsin – percolates through the soil and ends up polluting groundwater and people’s private wells.
His research team hypothesizes that flow of contaminated water though soil that’s highly permeable leads to bacterial contamination of groundwater at greater distances from the pollution source than what was thought possible based on previous laboratory measurements in more stable, homogeneous geologic materials.
“With a better understanding of these transport and travel pathways, we can build better models to understand and manage the risks associated with these contaminants,” Zahasky said. “We all know the source of bacteria and nitrate. In Wisconsin, it’s largely from certain agricultural activities. Ideally, we can make better decisions about the times of the year that you might do manure spreading or certain geologic setting that shouldn’t have manure spread on them because of the ability for these bacteria to travel through this material and get down to the groundwater.”
Zahasky and his team are conducting their research in the lab with soil samples they’ve gathered from the Central Sands area and Kewaunee County. They measure the soil’s properties, then pack it into large tubular columns and inject water through the material in a controlled manner. Then they add bacteria they’ve grown and pump them into the columns.
This is where the cancer imaging technology comes in. It’s called positron emission tomography (PET). In medical situations, doctors use PET with radio tracers to identify tumors in the body. It’s also used in some cases for cancer therapy treatment. The radio tracers are basically a radioactive sugar molecule. Cancer tumor cells have a high metabolism and so they uptake (eat) these sugar molecules at a higher rate than other cells in the body, which is what the PET ends up imaging.
Zahasky explained how this works for his purposes. “We leverage that imaging technique by radio labelling these bacteria, which means that we attach these radioactive isotopes to the bacteria that are emitted as they travel through these columns. As we’re imaging them, we can essentially track where these bacteria are going, how fast they’re getting there and where they’re getting stuck.
“We’re the first people in the world to radio label bacteria for environmental and geologic purposes. We’re pretty excited about this,” Zahasky said.
How do they attach radioactive isotopes to tiny bacteria? Zahasky said it’s not complicated. “We grow the bacteria until just the right point – where they’re starting to get hungry. Then we add this radio-labeled sugar and they just gobble it up. The bacteria eat the sugars just like tumor cells do.”
Zahasky developed this approach during his Ph.D. work at Stanford University. However, many of the isotopes required for this imaging are produced at the University of Wisconsin Cyclotron Lab. So, it made sense for him to continue his research at UW-Madison, where he has built capability with support from a National Science Foundation grant.
“It allowed my research group to leverage this type of imaging in lots of new ways that just weren’t possible without having access to these facilities here on campus,” he said.
Zahasky plans to apply this technique to future studies involving the movement of microplastics and other contaminants such as heavy metals.
The post Percolating pollution first appeared on WRI.News Release | WRI
https://www.wri.wisc.edu/news/percolating-pollution/
Wisconsin Water Library
https://waterlibrary.aqua.wisc.edu/celebrating-a-wisconsin-naturalist-summer/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=celebrating-a-wisconsin-naturalist-summer
This is part two in a two-part series looking at the cost of water in Ontario. Read part one here, and find the Great Lakes News Collaborative’s series on cost of water in Michigan here.
Just how big an underinvestment Ontario is facing when it comes to the state of its drinking and wastewater infrastructure is difficult to tabulate.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/ontario-uneven-investment-water-infrastructure/
Coastal restoration efforts are underway across the state as recipients of the Michigan Coastal Management Program grants begin work locally. Seventeen awards totaling more than $1.1 million will fund projects and initiatives to protect, preserve and enhance the state’s coastal resources.
The post More beach, boat access planned from coastal grants first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/05/19/more-beach-boat-access-planned-from-coastal-grants/
Fresh is a biweekly newsletter from Circle of Blue that unpacks the biggest international, state, and local policy news stories facing the Great Lakes region today. Sign up for Fresh: A Great Lakes Policy Briefing, straight to your inbox, every other Tuesday.
— Laura Gersony, Fresh Editor
This Week’s Watersheds
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/fresh-epa-minnesota-mining-permit/
A pair of 20-something lake sturgeons in a “touch tank” are ready to greet summer visitors to a new freshwater science center at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220518-lakeerie-algalbloom
A pair of 20-something lake sturgeons in a “touch tank” are ready to greet summer visitors to a new freshwater science center at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220518-sturgeon-touchtank
The city of South Haven, Michigan, has the authority to close beaches and Lake Michigan piers when there are unsafe conditions, after a new ordinance was adopted in January. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220518-southhaven-unsafepiers
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has awarded money through its Boating Facility Grant Program that will lead to several new fishing and boating access areas open to public use. Read the full story by The Patriot-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220518-pa-anglers-access
This is part one in a two-part series looking at the cost of water in Ontario. Find the Great Lakes News Collaborative’s series on cost of water in Michigan here.
Canadians living in the Great Lakes basin have perhaps become spoiled at the seemingly endless availability of water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/canada-aging-infrastructure-rising-costs/
Have you caught any odd-looking walleye from Lake Huron? The Michigan Department of Natural Resources said it had received several reports of possible tissue degeneration in walleye from Lake Huron in the town of Au Gres, Michigan. Read the full story by WSMH-TV – Flint, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220518-discoloredwalleye
For two centuries, Marblehead Lighthouse has been a towering mainstay along Lake Erie’s shoreline. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is hosting a series of events this year to honor Marblehead Lighthouse’s bicentennial anniversary. Read the full story by the Fremont News-Messenger.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220518-marbleheadlighthouse
Researchers from the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Wayne State University met in Traverse City, Michigan, to discuss the impacts of microplastics pollution. More than 22 million pounds of plastic go into the Great Lakes every year. Read the full story by WKBD-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220518-freighter-microplastics-greatlakes
If you want to feel small, stand a few feet from a 740-foot freighter as it slides past on its way out of a 1,200-foot shipping lock at the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220518-freighter-soolocks
More than $100 million in funding for restoration to portions of the St. Louis River near Duluth, Minnesota, was announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Tuesday. A large portion will be funded through President Biden’s infrastructure law, which will accelerate long-awaited work in St. Louis River Area of Concern on Lake Superior. Read the full story by KSMP-TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220518-greatlakes-duluth-restorationprojects
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials are forecasting that Great Lakes water levels will continue their seasonal rise. Read the full story by Radio Results Network.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220518-greatlakes-waterlevels
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/twenty-years-drought-examined
The same supply chain disruptions that slow Michigan manufacturing could help the recycling industry bring in new business.
The post Supply chain slowdown could boost demand for recycled materials first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/05/18/supply-chain-slowdown-could-boost-demand-for-recycle-materials/
When Monty and Rose – Chicago’s beloved piping plover pair – first successfully nested at Montrose Beach, a popular place on the city’s north side, people celebrated the potential return of a dying bird species and were charmed by the adorable tiny birds.
The Great Lakes piping plover population has been a U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/monty-passes-rose-location-question/
The Great Lakes News Collaborative looks at the cost of water in the region and beyond.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/waters-true-cost-episode-2205/
The 2021 Great Lakes Commission Annual Report includes remarks from Chair Todd L. Ambs and Executive Director Erika Jensen. The Commission’s annual reports traditionally include remarks from our chair and executive director as well as information regarding revenues, expenses, and commissioners.
Download PDF | Published May 2022
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/library/2021-glc-annual-report
In our newest TikTok, Echo reporter Brooklyn Peppo explores the potential negative health effects of breathing in lake breeze.
The post Lake breeze can be harmful to health: TikTok edition first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/05/17/lake-breeze-can-be-harmful-to-health-tiktok-edition/
In our newest TikTok, Echo reporter Brooklyn Peppo explores the potential negative health effects of breathing in lake breeze.
The post Lake breeze can be harmful to health: TikTok edition first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/05/17/lake-breeze-can-be-harmful-to-health-tiktok-edition/
A new study from the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo, projects a roasty future in Canadian cities as temperatures continue to rise, warming on average at twice the global rate. Read the full story by Toronto Sun.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220516-canada
For more than 100 years we managed to foul the world’s largest freshwater resource to the point that their waters were undrinkable, unswimmable, unfishable. The GLRI is not a debt we are pushing onto future taxpayers, it is a debt we are paying off from our past actions. And it makes economic sense, as restoration dollars return two to three times their investment in value to our region and our nation. Read the full story by The Hill.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20220516-glri
