How low will lake levels go? IJC wants public input at Sunday meeting in Allendale, Mich.
April 29, 08 by TheFleetIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
by Jeff Alexander | Source: The Muskegon Chronicle
West Michigan residents concerned about sinking Great Lakes water levels will get a chance to share their views this week when U.S. and Canadian officials studying the issue visit Muskegon.
The International Joint Commission, a U.S.-Canadian panel that advises the two nations on Great Lakes issues, is studying water levels in lakes Michigan, Huron, Superior and Erie. A committee working on the IJC’s International Upper Great Lakes Study will host a public hearing on lake levels Sunday, from 10 a.m. to noon, at Grand Valley State University’s Annis Water Resources Institute, 740 W. Shoreline.
“We want to hear lots of people come out and squawk at this public meeting,” said John Nevin, an IJC spokesman. “We want to hear what this issue means to people when the water is really high or really low.”
IJC officials might get an earful.
… Roger Gauthier, a hydrologist with the Great Lakes Commission, said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers could fix the excessive loss of water down the St. Clair River within a year by installing flow control structures near Port Huron.
“They could control erosion in the St. Clair River with underwater speed bumps — inflatable bladders that could hold back water (in Lake Huron) when water levels are low,” Gauthier said.
When the Corps of Engineers deepened the St. Clair River channel in 1962, the agency drafted blueprints for a concrete weir on the river bottom to control water levels in lakes Huron and Michigan. But the weir was never built because lake levels were generally above average from 1964 through about 1997; water levels have dropped like a stone since 1997.
Much more to this excellent story at the Muskegon Chronicle >>
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[...] CHUQ wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptRoger Gauthier, a hydrologist with the Great Lakes Commission, said the US Army Corps of Engineers could fix the excessive loss of water down the St. Clair River within a year by installing flow control structures near Port Huron. … [...]