Water levels in Lake Michigan hit record low, no relief predicted

WBEZ recently produced a multimedia story on the impact of low water levels in the Great Lakes as we end 2012 in a state of drought. The story focuses on some of Chicago’s

We Clear The Way World War II poster for the U... — We Clear The Way World War II poster for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

favorite vacation areas around Green Bay and across the lake in Michigan. If you bike or walk along Chicago’s lakeshore, you can observe the problem yourself.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported water levels in Lakes Michigan and Huron hit record lows in December, at nearly two and a half feet below average. Army Corps projections for lake levels have been dire since September, when it became clear that a relatively warm, dry fall and winter would not provide relief from a long drought and one of the the hottest summers ever.

Now the water is an inch below its record low for this time of year in 1964, and continues to drop. Shippers, fishermen, and small-town tourist harbors say federal help with digging out channels and repairing infrastructure could keep the low water problem from becoming a crisis.
via U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports water levels hit a record low in Lake Michigan in December; without a turnaround, shipping, fishing, and the economies of whole towns are at risk. | WBEZ 91.5 Chicago.