Great Lakes see impact of climate change: Higher highs, lower lows
More intense storms, fueled by climate change, are battering shorelines and cities throughout the Great Lakes, pulling the land right out from under some homes.
“Cities like Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland, they all have to adapt to this,” said Melissa Scanlan, director of the Center for Water Policy at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
Milwaukee sits on Lake Michigan, which has swung from record-low water levels in 2013 to record highs the past few years.
“The highs are getting higher and the lows are getting lower,” Scanlan said. “I’m most concerned about flooding and sewage contaminating the drinking water supply for millions of people.”
Sewage can get dumped into Lake Michigan when intense storms overwhelm Milwaukee’s stormwater systems. The area’s sewerage district is replacing concrete channels built in the 1960s with more natural creeks to try to prevent future flooding.
Marquette, Michigan, spent $3 million to rebuild a shattered stretch of road 300 feet away from its increasingly unpredictable neighbor, Lake Superior.
“Lake erosion really got the best of it,” said Dennis Stachewicz, who is planning director for the city. “Ultimately it failed because nature caught up with us.”
But with access to so much fresh water and without the hurricanes and wildfires ravaging other parts of the country, the Great Lakes region is still considered somewhat of a climate haven.
With the right solutions, Stachewicz said, they hope to weather the storm. “Change is occurring and we probably need to be prepared for it,” he said.
CBS News
Luck of the Lakes raffle winners announced
Toledo, OH – On Saturday, September 25 the National Museum of the Great Lakes held its H2Oh! Gala, signifying the tail-end of its single largest fundraiser of the year. For the second year in a row, the group raised over $200,000 to support Great Lakes history.
At the gala, winners of the Luck of the Lakes raffle were drawn. The grand prize winner selected the 11-day Great Lakes cruise from Victory Cruise Lines. The runner-up won the Cleveland getaway with an exclusive invitation to participate in the christening and receive a behind-the-scenes tour of the M/V Mark W. Barker. The third prize winner received a day trip experience on the J.W. Westcott.
And the winners are…
GRAND PRIZE WINNER: Brad Topovski
RUNNER UP: Nick Kirby
THIRD PRIZE: Cary Cooper
National Museum of the Great Lakes
Lake Michigan steel plant spill not a hazard, say officials
Portage, IN – Environmental officials say high iron levels in a steel plant wastewater spill into a Lake Michigan waterway does not pose a risk to the public.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) says surface water testing near the U.S. Steel Midwest Plant wastewater outfall, which released a rust-colored discharge this weekend. “do not indicate any health risks for people who may come into direct contact with the water.”
An orangish plume in the Burns Waterway was initially spotted on Sunday, Sept. 26 and prompted beach closures this week at Indiana Dunes National Park and other Lake Michigan public shorelines around the Portage, Ind. facility. U.S. Steel spokeswoman Amanda Malkowski said Monday that the waterway discoloration was due to high iron levels, which regulators confirmed on Wednesday.
Read the full story at this M Live link: https://www.mlive.com/news/2021/09/iron-in-lake-michigan-wastewater-spill-not-a-hazard-say-officials.html?utm_campaign=aanews_sf&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR0j20Bt_i0ZzDyqJ5MqG_O0du3G8CwWjCaJGGkavnOpbpagb_VJiwDsfco
