Great Lakes Water Levels

[SKYCHENEY]

Maynard brought this up on another thread, but I thought it warranted it's own since this is BIG problem. The water at our marina which is on the east side of Lake Michigan has gone down another foot in the last 2 weeks. Although the level usually drops some in the fall, I am getting more that a little concerned. Two guys in our marina have damaged props which transiting our channel and I don't want to be next.

I know we go in cycles and I remember low water in the 70's and high water in the late 80's, but I don't ever remember the water being this low for this long. What will next year bring and can we ever expect this problem to go away?

 

[StratPlan61]

Sky, I'll look around here for a study I have on Great Lakes water levels. If I recall correctly, there are two predominate water cycles, a 15yr and a 30yr. I believe they can compound one another every so many years.

If I can find it I'll send it to you to read, you would find it interesting I think. Give me a few days.

 

[Jaxfishgyd]

My buddy,(Ang has meet him) who spends the winter here in Jacksonville spends the summers in Wisconsin on Lake Superier. He is having to have his boat hauled out this week due to low water.

Says he has never seen it so low in his 62 yrs....

 

[(Nobody You Know)]

What a coincidence. I was at Niagra last Friday. You couldn't tell it (LOL). OK, not funny.

A couple of years ago National Geographic did a study on the lake levels of the great lakes. The 1930's held the all time record of lowest water level. Not surprising, once Canadian researcher Steve McIntyre along with economist Ross McKitrick, demolished the Mann "hockey stic", NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies -- whose temperature records are a key component of the global-warming corrected their data to demonstrate that the hottest year since 1880 becomes 1934 (instead of 1998).

It sands to reason that "global warming" (arguable not "man induced", but caused by the sun) is responsible for the brisk prop repair business around the "lakes".

 

[captddis]

I just delivered a boat from Houston TX to Sandusky OH. I had trouble finding marinas with enough water for us. A number of the places we stopped in the lakes said 6 ft but had less. I got close to the dock and pulled the boat in with lines a number of places as it was so shallow. In the morning we pushed off before dropping in gear. Even then I would use the low idle mode so it did not jump so much.In Algonac the sounder read 0.0 at the dock! A couple places I left the boat at the fuel dock while I sounded the alongside depth with a boat hook.
FWIW the rivers were low as well. A lot of buoys were up on the banks.

 

[Trojan]

That's interesting. I have not been at the boat for a week. But the last time I was there, the water level was not below the normal level for this time of year. But over all Lake Erie is low and has been low for years. But there not dredging the river for the big ships. So I don't know what gives with the water level. I blame it on China and the giant dam. The back water is 600 ft deep and the size of Utah. Where did they get all that water? LOL. That's why the ice is going away too. It's being used to fill in the shortage. LOL. Erie water level is supposed to be regulated by the power plant at Niagara. But I don't know to what extent.

BILL

 

[spartonboat1]

I usually ignore my brother on this type of thing, but on this he made some sense. The solar system has an orbit within the Milky Way. The Solar System orbits above, through, and below a cross section of the Milky Way and back up again, over a very long cycle. Supposedly, some astronomers report that we are passing through an area of space and cross section of the Milky Way that causes the sun to become more active than normal, during this cross section passage. The solar system is to pass out of this area around 2012. This is a repeatable cycle and can coincide with the 11 year Sun Spot cycle, so is phase shifted- sometime in synch, sometimes not. Two PhD friends of mine have confirmed the Sun Spot cycle and affect on the earth's temperature.

All that I believe.

However, less valid is that where Al Gore goes, his extra weight (he ain't skipp'in no meals) causes a tilt in the earth's axis affecting our temperatures.

 

[Trojan]

There is also a supposedly 11 year cycle on atmospheric radio communications. I have not kept track on it lately so I don't know where we are at on that. Anyone that talked skip on there CB can remember the cycle. Usually I do because it effects the 6meter band. Maybe it coincides with the water. Back in the seventy's, Toledo installed sea walls in one section of Toledo because of the flooding. Removable doors were installed at every egress, But I can't remember when they have been closed or installed last. It's been a long long time, years. In the early seventy's it was nothing for our docks to be under water in the spring. Homes along the Detroit river used to be flooded in the spring on a regular basis, not any more. What happened?


BILL.

 

[chris piazza]

I have been boating on the lakes, mostly Huron for almost 30yrs, I have never seen it this low! The low water levels is the talk of every marina that I visited this year. Every state owned marina needs dredging, but because of the economy in our state there is no funds. There are several facilities around Saginaw Bay that deeper draft boats cannot get into anymore. Caseville, Port Austin, Oscoda, Harbour Beach and Port Sanilac just to name a few. Everybody comes up with a different reason why, Global Warming, limited water shed from Canada, deeper dredging in the Detroit river, no snow and limited ice which causes evaporation of the lakes. I am not sure if anybody has the right answer or a fix for the problem.

Chris
Superior Nights 53C

 

[spartonboat1]

I have been boating on the lakes, mostly Huron for almost 30yrs, I have never seen it this low!
Chris
Superior Nights 53C

Based on the ususal 11 year cycles, coupled with the 22 year major cycles, you have been through about 1.5 cycles. My family owned a major N. MI resort in very early 1900's on Lake MI waters and pictures from the resort we have show the water to be very low. On the other hand, I have pictures of the old Mertaugh Boat works in Hessel, in which the docks were awash in the late 40's.

So some of these cycles have long periodics...

 

[Nonchalant1]

I checked the actual lake levels via NOAA before entering the North Channel and Georgian Bay. We were at 1 inch above chart datum in July. The facts are: We're less than half a foot below last year in Lake Michigan (see the black line vs the green line here: http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/data/now/wlevels/mh_sc_cl.gif

We're also only 8 inches below the long time mean average and about 4 inches above the long time low. See the chart here: http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/data/now/wlevels/mic_lvl.gif

There's no chart for Al Gore's weight but I think the observations above are accurate.

Doug

 

[Westfield 11]

Does anyone know if they are having the same problem over on the Canadian side too?

 

[krush]

I thoguht the "global warming" is going to cuase all of us to drown!?!

 

[Trojan]

I don't know jack about the solar system or orbit cycles. But in as much as all the water that is on this earth is the same water as millions of years ago. So its still here. It's just shifted to someplace else. SOOOO, The earth must be tilted someway or another causing the water to move to some other area. We just need to find out where it went so we can get it back. LOL. And to think that they wanted to run a pipeline from the great lakes to Las Vegas so they could farm the deserts. What were they thinking?


BILL

 

[DickB]

Vegas also wants to tap into our Columbia River.

Dumb question. What feeds the Great Lakes? I.e., what's the source?

Dick

 

[Nonchalant1]

Vegas also wants to tap into our Columbia River.

Dumb question. What feeds the Great Lakes? I.e., what's the source?

Dick

A lot of Great Lakes water comes from snow melt from the Canadian shield, plus thousands of rivers and creeks that flow rainwater into it.

Doug

 

[spartonboat1]

FWIW, the volume of Lake Superior equals that of all the other Great Lakes. Also, the flow into Canada is also substantial, in addition that out through the GL.

P.s., just ran the boat from Cheboygan to storage facilities, and yes, the water was down, maybe about 4 inches. OMG, what fabulous weather last weekend. Peasoup fog, 75 degrees, then cleared in the Straits of Mackinaw near Bois Blanc Isle, and the spires of the Mac Bridge towered out of the fog. 0-1's, then almost calm near St. Ignace.