Year in preview: Looking ahead to 2008; How low will it go?
December 30, 07 by TheFleetIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
by Jeff Alexander | Source: Muskegon Chronicle
Plunging Great Lakes water levels likely will create more headaches and hazards for freighters and recreational boaters in 2008 and lead to calls for increased harbor dredging.
Lake Michigan’s water level is approaching the record low set in 1964, according to government data. Federal officials are predicting the lake level, currently 26 inches below its long-term average, will continue to drop and could dip below the record by May.
Without increased harbor dredging, freighters could run aground in ports like Muskegon and Grand Haven.
The federal government’s reluctance to dredge commercial harbors, like those in White Lake and Pentwater Lake, could make recreational boating hazardous. The plunging water levels could leave some channels, like the one in Mona Lake, high and dry.
The only immediate solutions: More precipitation and more winter ice cover on the Great Lakes, which reduces evaporation.
