St. Mary’s River lower this month; Upper Great Lakes remain below average
September 05, 08 by TheFleetIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Source: Sault Star
The St. Mary’s River won’t run quite as high this month, as the International Lake Superior Board of Control responds to August’s Lake Superior water level decline.
Lake Superior, which normally rises by one centimetre in August, dropped by five centimetres last month.
Water supplies to the basins of Lake Superior and lakes Michigan-Huron were well below their long-term averages, said the board of control in its regular outflow update.
The reduced rate will mean decreased water levels on the St. Mary’s Rapids this month.
Read the rest of the story at the Sault Star >>
The Walter J. McCarthy, a 1000-footer, anchored above the Rock Cut Wednesday evening, likely due to low water levels. The St Marys River was well below datum at that point. The McCarthy had long since departed anchorage and cleared the River as of mid-day Thursday, September 4th.
Loaded freighters often anchor above and below the Rock Cut when water levels drop. Failing to wait could have disastrous results; without enough water, they may strike bottom, run firmly aground, damage the hull, and even possibly spill some of their cargo in the waterway.
It is more common to see ships anchored in the St Marys in the autumn and early winter months, as water levels tend to run lower in the lakes and therefore the river during that time of year. ##
Web: NOAA Great Lakes Online - live water level readings around the Great Lakes
01 • Brenda Says: 06.09.08 at 7:44 am
The Walter J. McCathy was anchored in the St. Marys River at our place near 9 Mile Point. You can see pictures of the McCarthy turning around on my blog. When ships anchor in the river, they must be facing upbound. Since the McCathy was going down bound, she had to turn around to anchor and then again to resume her trip.
Watching a 1,000 footer turn around in the river is always exciting to watch.