Sea Squirts Sucking Up Species

  • A colony of tunicates in Guam (Photo by David Burdick, courtesy of NOAA)

Slimy, hungry invaders are moving through
the waters off the Northwest coast of the US.
They’re called invasive tunicates –
or sea squirts. And they’re the same invasive
species that devastated shellfish farms on Canada’s
east coast. If invasive tunicates aren’t controlled,
you could see a lot of seafood options disappear
from markets and menus. Ann Dornfeld has the story:

Transcript

Slimy, hungry invaders are moving through
the waters off the Northwest coast of the US.
They’re called invasive tunicates –
or sea squirts. And they’re the same invasive
species that devastated shellfish farms on Canada’s
east coast. If invasive tunicates aren’t controlled,
you could see a lot of seafood options disappear
from markets and menus. Ann Dornfeld has the story:

It’s a peaceful spring morning at this suburban marina. But beneath the water’s surface, a hunt is
underway.

(water sounds)

Professional divers – like Jesse Schultz with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife – are
combing the docks for invasive tunicates. They don’t have to look far.

“That’s one of the tunicates right there – that’s the guy right there.”

Schultz surfaces holding a jelly-like tube. Sea squirts compete with everything from clams to tube
worms for the plankton they all eat. The sea squirts usually win, because they don’t have native
predators. Three species came here from Asia, probably on boat hulls. Today, divers are cleaning
the hulls of local boats to keep the sea squirts from spreading.

Allen Pleus manages invasive species for the state.

“The whole intent right now is a containment action. We want to prevent any of these boats
from leaving this harbor with the tunicates attached to their bottom, going to another
harbor, and infesting that harbor or marina.”

When invasive tunicates get to a new harbor, they quickly become the dominant species. In the
warm part of the year, they spawn every 24 hours. And along with hogging the food supply, one
species of sea squirts forms a slimy mat that smothers mussels and other shellfish.

Pleus says if tunicates get out of hand, they could make a big impact on the seafood industry.

“It can definitely affect especially shellfishing in this area. Puget Sound, Western Washington is one of
the largest producers of shellfish in the nation. It could also affect other populations of
food fish, including salmon, by taking out a lot of the nutrients that juvenile salmon feed
on.”

Nova Scotia learned that lesson the hard way. Pleus says in Eastern Canada, entire shellfish
farms were recently wiped out by invasive tunicates.

“So the rap sheet is clear. They can grow to exponential sizes, quantities and smother
aquaculture facilities. They can’t even lift up their lines it’s so heavy with these critters on
it.”

To prevent the same thing from happening here, the state workers have to move quickly – and
they have to be thorough.

“Here’s another bag, Justin!” (splashing sound)

Back in the water, diving biologist Jesse Schultz has his hands full with a boat that has apparently
been docked for seven years. Its tabs show that’s the last time it was registered.

“This guy’s getting a free boat cleaning, sort of!”

The state is trying to scrape clean every infested boat in Puget Sound before the summer boating
season. But Schultz says because the docks are still covered with invasive tunicates, they’ll grow
back on this boat if the owner doesn’t keep it clean.

“That’s the biggest thing these guys can do to keep these things from spreading is have
their boats maintained.”

The state is still figuring out the best way to clean the docks. So far biologists have cleaned only
one entirely. When they were done, they’d removed ten tons of critters.

Unfortunately, Allen Pleus says only some of those were tunicates. In order to get rid of the
invasive sea squirts, they have to employ a sort of scorched earth policy.

“That is one of the hardest parts of this is that we have to basically take everything out.”

That means the good with the bad. We sift through a bucket of the creatures scraped from the
dock. Along with plenty of invasive tunicates, there are brightly colored sea cucumbers, scallops,
mussels, rock oysters, feather duster worms and chitons – exactly the kinds of animals the state
is trying to protect. They have to destroy the habitat in order to try to save it.

For The Environment Report, I’m Ann Dornfeld.

Related Links

Sea of Controversy for Hawaii’s Superferry

  • Hawaii's Superferry was met with initial excitement, but it quickly turned to environmental concern (Photo courtesy of Hawaii Superferry)

For decades, people who wanted to get from
one Hawaiian island to another have had one main
option: flying. So when plans were unveiled for
a high-speed ferry between the islands, Hawaiians
and tourists were initially thrilled. But growing
concern about the Superferry’s potential environmental
impact has turned the issue into one of the state’s
biggest legal battles in years. Ann Dornfeld reports:

Transcript

For decades, people who wanted to get from
one Hawaiian island to another have had one main
option: flying. So when plans were unveiled for
a high-speed ferry between the islands, Hawaiians
and tourists were initially thrilled. But growing
concern about the Superferry’s potential environmental
impact has turned the issue into one of the state’s
biggest legal battles in years. Ann Dornfeld reports:

David Dinner is board president of the environmental group 1000 Friends
of Kaua’i. He lives near this small beach on the island’s north shore.
Dinner says when endangered humpback whales come to Hawaii in the
winter to give birth, you can whale-watch right from this beach. Even
when he lived far from the ocean, he once witnessed a huge migration
from his window.

“I could see that the ocean was filled with whales. And I later found out that there were 6,000 whales around Kaua’i at that
time. So it was like wall-to-wall whales out there.”

When Dinner first heard about plans for a high-speed inter-island
catamaran, he was excited. But the more he and others learned about the
Hawaii Superferry, the more they worried about its effect on those whales.

Mother whales spend a lot of time just below the surface, pushing their
calves up for air. The concern is that the ferry’s twin hulls would strike the
whales at a speed of up to 45 miles per hour. That’s a lot faster than other
boats like cruise ships and tankers.

“The other boats that travel in this area generally go in the area of 13 to 15
miles an hour. So the Superferry is way beyond the speed of the other boats.”

Another big worry was that the car ferry could bring invasive species from
one island to another. For instance, mongooses decimated the Big
Island’s bird population. But Kaua’i doesn’t have mongooses yet.

Rich Hoeppner is founder of the Superferry Impact Group.

“We have an incredible selection of birds here. We have shearwaters,
albatross, the state bird – the Nene, is a land-dweller and endangered
species. So one pregnant mongoose gets on our island, our bird
population will be history.”

When activists learned that the state government had given Hawaii
Superferry the green light without an environmental impact statement,
they filed suit. Last August, the state Supreme Court ruled that the state
should have required an environmental impact statement.

Despite that, just two days later, Superferry made its maiden voyage to
Kaua’i.

Rich Hoeppner says two dozen surfers and kayakers blocked the
boat’s path to Nawiliwili Harbor for hours.

The next night, protesters crowded the harbor, and dozens more people
took to the water – some in traditional Hawaiian canoes. Protesters
filmed the action.

(sound of protest chants)

“After 3 hours, the ferry, which was at the mouth of the harbor, turned
around and went back to Oahu. It didn’t get to its dock. And it hasn’t been
back since!”

Hawaii Superferry says it takes the environment seriously.

Terry O’Halloran is Director of Business Development. He points to the
company’s efforts to keep invasive species from hitching
a ride on vehicles.

“We look under the hood, we look in the trunk, we look in the wheel wells,
we look inside the vehicles, and then a certain number of vehicles that go
through our security screening get a much more thorough screening and
inspection.”

O’Halloran says vehicles with muddy tires aren’t allowed on board in case
bugs or seeds are in the dirt. There are boot scrubbers for passengers,
too. On-board videos warn travelers about the dangers of invasive
species.

O’Halloran says Superferry also has a Whale Avoidance Policy that
includes avoiding the main calving areas during whale season, and
slowing down in whale zones.

“We have been able to spot and avoid the whales. We also have two dedicated
whale lookouts and their only job is to help the captain spot whales.”

Superferry is still making its Oahu-to-Maui trips. In a special session,
Hawaii legislators passed a law allowing the Superferry to keep
running while the state conducts an Environmental Impact Statement.

Protestors say that’s a terrible idea – and illegal. They’re pursuing
lawsuits in the state Supreme Court to dock the ferry until it’s clear the
boat is safe.

For The Environment Report, I’m Ann Dornfeld on Kaua’i.

Related Links

A Silver Bullet for Zebra Mussels?

  • Zebra mussels were discovered 20 years ago, and have since spread across the country (Photo courtesy of the US Fish and Wildlife Service)

Researchers say they’ve found something
that will kill invasive zebra and quagga mussels.
The mussels got into the US in the ballast of
foreign ships. Since then they’ve spread throughout
the country. Rebecca Williams reports:

Transcript

Researchers say they’ve found something
that will kill invasive zebra and quagga mussels.
The mussels got into the US in the ballast of
foreign ships. Since then they’ve spread throughout
the country. Rebecca Williams reports:

So, let’s say you have a nasty pest, an invasive species. Then someone says, we can get rid of that
pest and it looks like there’s no environmental downside.

“It kinda sounds like snake oil. But it’s true.”

That’s Dan Molloy with the New York State Museum lab. He’s come up with a
way to kill zebra and quagga mussels.

Molloy says a strain of common bacteria is toxic to zebra and quagga
mussels. And, even if the bacteria are dead, they can still kill the
mussels.

“You know maybe horror stories of people applying biocontrol agents. And it
had effects they didn’t anticipate. We’re applying dead cells. And they’re
just as effective live or dead.”

It’s great news for power plants, because the mussels clog up intake
pipes.

But it’s not clear if the bacteria can kill mussels in open water.

For The Environment Report, I’m Rebecca Williams.

Related Links

Ballast Tanks: Rinse and Repeat

  • Crew chief Mohammed Sangare tests the "Federal Kivalina"'s ballast tanks for invasive species. (Photo by David Sommerstein)

The United States and Canada are trying to
figure out how to keep new invasive species out of
the Great Lakes. 185 have already snuck in, costing
the region billions of dollars a year. Many
hitchhiked in the ballast tanks of foreign cargo ships.
Both countries want the public to know they’re doing
something about the problem. So they invited journalists
to the port of Montreal to see how ballast tanks are
tested for invasive species. David Sommerstein
reports:

Transcript

The United States and Canada are trying to
figure out how to keep new invasive species out of
the Great Lakes. 185 have already snuck in, costing
the region billions of dollars a year. Many
hitchhiked in the ballast tanks of foreign cargo ships.
Both countries want the public to know they’re doing
something about the problem. So they invited journalists
to the port of Montreal to see how ballast tanks are
tested for invasive species. David Sommerstein
reports:

A couple dozen reporters crowd the deck of the cargo ship Federal Kivalina.
Cameras click, pencils scribble, and tape rolls as a man in a bright orange
uniform steps forward to test for invasive species.

“My name is Mohammed Sanare.”

(sound of tape measure sliding down)

Sangare is the bosun, the crew chief. He slides what looks like a metal tape
measure down a tube. It’s the opening of one of the Kivalina’s 16 ballast
tanks.

“Down to the bottom now. The bob’s down to the bottom.”

The tape hits the tank bottom, and Sangare reels it back up.

Terry Jordan, a St. Lawrence Seaway official, is waiting with a handheld
gizmo. It’s a refractometer that tests water salinity. He carefully places a
drop of ballast water on it.

“All it takes is one drop of water on the refractive lens, OK.”

Jordan peers through the refractometer’s lens. It reads 38 parts salt per 1000
parts water.

Recent scientific studies show that concentration of salt water kills up to
99% of the organisms hidden in these ballast tanks. That’s important
because those critters can compete with native species and damage whole
ecosystems.

David Reid is a researcher with the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration.

“Salinity was very effective at killing many of the organisms that we would
expect to be able to survive in the Great lakes.”

So for the first time this year, all ships voyaging into the Great Lakes have to
do something that sounds like a mouthwash ad.

“Swish and spit.”

Yeah, “swish and spit”. Terry Jordan says on its way across the ocean, the
ship flushes its ballast tanks with salt water, and presumably, kills potential
invasive species. The refractometer test is proof of the swish and spit. If the
ship fails, its ballast tank is sealed and its owner is fined up to 36,000
dollars.

“Swish & spit” has been voluntary for years. Environmentalists say the new
mandatory rules are a step in the right direction, but too little and way too
late.

“Some would argue that the dam has already burst.”

Hugh MacIsaac specializes in invasive species at the Great Lakes Institute
for Environmental Research in Windsor, Ontario. He says if ships were
“swishing and spitting” from the beginning, we might have been able to
prevent the zebra mussel, round goby, and other invasions.

But, MacIsaac warns there are other species lurking on the horizon, like
one in Germany, ominously called the killer shrimp.

“And so any protective measures that we put in place today that would
prevent or retard their ability to get in, I would welcome.”

Scientists doubt anything can be fool-proof. Invasive species still can hide
other places on the ship. And the new rules do nothing to stop salt-water
invaders like the mitten crab from attacking ports on the East and West
Coasts.

Terry Johnson is the St. Lawrence Seaway’s U.S. Administrator. He says
“swish & spit” is a huge step forward for the Great Lakes.

“So does that mean that it is absolutely, definately 100% positively assured that there
won’t be invasives coming in with these new regulations? No, it’s doesn’t.
But it dramatically reduces the risk.”

Congress is considering even tougher rules that would force shippers to
install cutting-edge ballast cleansing systems. The proposal could cost up to
a million dollars per vessel. The Bush Administration has threatened a veto.

For The Environment Report, I’m David Sommerstein.

Related Links

New Ship Has Balance Without Ballast

  • A diagram of the ballast-free ship (Photo courtesy of Professor Michael Parsons)

Cargo ships move sea life around the world.
Moving aquatic life from one port to another can cause
environmental havoc. Lester Graham reports there’s a
new idea that could nearly eliminate the problem of
transporting sea life to foreign ports:

Transcript

Cargo ships move sea life around the world.
Moving aquatic life from one port to another can cause
environmental havoc. Lester Graham reports there’s a
new idea that could nearly eliminate the problem of
transporting sea life to foreign ports:

There is an invasion of every major port on the globe.

“Today, the world’s shores are under attack. Armies of aliens are secretly invading our coasts.”

If this video, Invaders from the Sea, from the International Maritime
Organization sounds a little over-dramatic, it’s really not. Invaders from far-flung
corners of the world are brought in by commerce. In their travels, cargo ships pick up the
hitchhikers.

Those hitchhikers can be fish, mussels – aquatic bugs of all kinds. They can become
pests. Out-compete native species for food and space. They can destroy the
native ecosystems and often damage the economic well-being of people.

Here’s how it happens. Ocean-going cargo ships dock at a foreign port. They pump in
water for ballast to keep the ship stable. They also pump in some of the living things in
the water. When they arrive at the destination port, they can pump out that water and
the critters that were sucked up with it.

In the US, ports from Chesapeake Bay to San Francisco have been invaded. But,
the Great Lakes have been hit especially hard by invasive species.

Michael Parsons is a professor of naval architecture at the University of Michigan. He
says when foreign ships were able to come in from the Atlantic and travel as far as
inland as Duluth, Minnesota; they brought a lot of invaders with them.

“With the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in the ‘50’s, that led to increased
introduction of non-indigenous species such as the zebra mussel, and the round goby, and
the ruffe, and the various smaller creatures that have been brought in to the Great Lakes.”

Those creatures have damaged the ecosystem of the Great Lakes. And they’ve cost the economy.
By one Environmental Protection Agency estimate about five-billion dollars a year.

Parsons and his colleagues have been working to design a ship that has no need for
ballast. In the lab, a scale model has been tested in a long pool. Instead of pumping
water in and out of the ballasts, the water would flow through big
tubes that run the length of the ship.

“And so, that’ll create a slow flow through these trunks so that they’re always swept
clean of foreign water.”

“A ship like that is just what we need in the Great Lakes.”

Andy Buchsbaum runs the Great Lakes office of the environmental group, the National
Wildlife Federation.

“If you eliminate the need for ballast water altogether, then you’re eliminating the vast
majority of invasive species introductions that come in through the discharge of ballast.”

The ballast-free ship design is creating some excitement. Even the shipping industry is
paying attention because the ship also is more fuel efficient.

If someone decides to actually build the ballast-free cargo ship, it’ll be a while before
the first one is on the high seas.

Allegra Cangelosi has been working on the ballast and invasive species problem for
close to a decade. She’s a policy analyst with the Northeast-Midwest Institute.

“I think it’s a wonderful development. I don’t think there’s going to be any one answer
for all ships plying all waters throughout the globe. However, the more good answers
that are out there to choose from, the better for the environment.”

Some of those choices are filtering ballast water or killing organisms in the ballast with
chemicals. Those systems are expensive. And since fuel isn’t getting any cheaper, that
might make a more fuel-efficient ballast-free ship attractive.

For The Environment Report, this is Lester Graham.

Related Links

Big Ships Required to Flush

  • A ship discharging its ballast water (Photo courtesy of the US Geological Survey)

Ships should be bringing in fewer unwanted
pests into the Great Lakes. Both Canada and the
U-S are now requiring ships to flush out their
ballast water tanks before entering the lakes.
Tracy Samilton reports:

Transcript

Ships should be bringing in fewer unwanted pests into the Great
Lakes. Both Canada and the U.S. are now requiring ships to flush out their
ballast water tanks before entering the lakes. Tracy Samilton reports:

Ships need to take on ballast water to keep them stable. When they pump in
water from freshwater foreign ports, they also suck up pests.

Since 2006,
Canada has required ships to flush their tanks with salty ocean water
before entering the Great Lakes. The U.S. adopted the requirement at the
start of this year.

Collister Johnson is with the U.S. side of the St.
Lawrence Seaway, which connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Great
Lakes. He says the rule will eliminate almost 99% of freshwater
pests in ballast tanks.

“If they’re exposed to salt water, especially full strength sea water, they
are effectively killed.”

Samilton: “Why didn’t we do this before?”

Johnson: (laughs) “I don’t know.”

It won’t completely eliminate the problem because some aquatic pests can
still survive in the sediment in the bottom of ballast tanks.

For The Environment Report I’m Tracy Samilton.

Related Links

Stopping Ships’ Stowaways

  • A ship discharging its ballast water (Photo courtesy of the US Geological Survey)

Congress might take a final vote soon on a bill
that would make foreign ships treat ballast water to
kill unwanted species, before entering US waters.
Many environmental groups support the measure, but some
worry about the loss of state control. Chuck Quirmbach
reports:

Transcript

Congress might take a final vote soon on a bill
that would make foreign ships treat ballast water to
kill unwanted species, before entering US waters.
Many environmental groups support the measure, but some
worry about the loss of state control. Chuck Quirmbach
reports:

Backers of the ballast water requirement, recently passed by the House, hope to reduce the
number of invasive species brought in by foreign vessels.

Dozens of non-native species, like the zebra mussel, are causing major problems in the
Great Lakes. But the group ‘Midwest Environmental Advocates’ is raising concerns.

Executive Director Karen Schapiro says the House bill would prevent states from
developing ballast water treatment standards that are tougher than federal law, or that
take effect sooner.

“You know we would like to see the most feasibly stringent standards on the table, on the books,
even if that’s done on a state by state basis.”

But the shipping industry says it doesn’t want a patchwork of state regulations. The
national ballast water language is part of a Coast Guard bill that still has to be reconciled
with a Senate measure.

For The Environment Report, I’m Chuck Quirmbach.

Related Links

Fed Court Okays Ballast Law

A federal judge has upheld the constitutionality of a state law restricting ballast water on
ships entering the Great Lakes. As Rachel Lippmann reports, the ruling clears the way
for other states to take similar action to control the spread of invasive species:

Transcript

A federal judge has upheld the constitutionality of a state law restricting ballast water on
ships entering the Great Lakes. As Rachel Lippmann reports, the ruling clears the way
for other states to take similar action to control the spread of invasive species:


The Michigan law requires ocean-going ships that want to exchange ballast water while
in Michigan ports to clean that water before discharging it into the Great Lakes. The
court rejected arguments from shipping companies that Michigan’s action violated the
Interstate Commerce Clause.


Cameron Davis is the president of the Great Lakes Alliance, which joined the state of
Michigan in the lawsuit. He says the ruling makes it clear states have the right to adopt
their own environmental protections:


“We’re really challenging the other states to quit sitting on the sidelines and start to move
ahead with their own invasive species protections.”


Ohio lawmakers have just proposed similar ballast water law. The bill would also require
Ohio to work with the seven other Great Lakes states and Ontario to develop region-wide
regulations.


For the Environment Report, I’m Rachel Lippmann.

Related Links

FIGHT FOR AMERICA’S LONGEST RIVER (Part 1)

  • Wing dams along the Missouri River force the flow of water to the center, scouring the bottom of the river. Environmentalists say the Missouri has been turned into little more than a big ditch for barges. They support management plans that restore habitat for wildlife. (Photo by Lester Graham)

Rivers have been the life-blood of commerce in the United States since the
nation’s beginning. In 200 years, the machines of trade have evolved from flat-
bottomed wooden boats to today’s steel-hulled river barges. The rivers link
America’s natural resources with the industrial cities that propel its economy.
Decades of damming and dredging have turned the big rivers into shipping
channels. But in recent years, competing interests have argued in defense of
other uses of the rivers. In the first of three reports, Kevin Lavery looks at how
those groups seek to balance the economy and ecology:

Transcript

Rivers have been the life-blood of commerce in the United States since the
nation’s beginning. In 200 years, the machines of trade have evolved from flat-
bottomed wooden boats to today’s steel-hulled barges. The rivers link
America’s natural resources with the industrial cities that propel its economy.
Decades of damming and dredging have turned the big rivers into shipping
channels. But in recent years, competing interests have argued in defense of
other uses of the rivers. In the first of three reports, Kevin Lavery looks at how
those groups seek to balance the economy and ecology:


Long before interstates and over the road trucking, America moved its goods on
the water. River barges carry just about any kind of commodity. They emit less
pollution than trucks and trains… and the river route is cheaper than both the road
and the rail.


The nation’s farms, coal mines and quarries depend on rivers like the Mississippi,
Ohio and Missouri to keep their products moving. Business is healthy on the
Mississippi and the Ohio. But on the Missouri, barges carry just a third of the
cargo they did 30 years ago. Many shippers say drought and overregulated dam
releases make the water levels too unreliable to plan the big hauls that bring in
the most profit.


Paul Davis runs Interstate Marine Terminals, 200 miles upstream from where the
Missouri River meets the Mississippi, near St. Louis. He ships and stores
fertilizer from his dock. But Davis says when the river runs low, barges are not
his best option:


“The real adjustment that I’ve made is going from river to rail.”


Logistically, the adjustment is easy. The Union Pacific railroad line runs just a
few feet from Davis’ dock. But it costs him about 15 dollars more per ton to move
goods by rail. Davis says river barges might be profitable again if old feuds over
water management would end:


“There’s business out there. It could come back if people quit fighting and start agreeing
and confidence would return to shipping on the Missouri River. But I can’t afford to wait
and see… I’ve got to make adjustments.”


The fighting puts business against the environment. Shippers want enough
water to move freight. But environmentalists want the river to rise and recede
like it did before the Army Corps of Engineers started changing it.


The conflict goes back to the 1930’s. Congress ordered the Corps to make the
river safe for barges. That meant clearing snags and sandbars from a 735-mile
stretch from Sioux City, Iowa to St. Louis, Missouri. The Corps also confined the
river with earthen levees. Opponents say it turned the Missouri into a
characterless ditch.


The Corps spends 7 million dollars a year to maintain the channel. Spokesman
Paul Johnston says despite the dwindling volume of river traffic, the Corps is
mandated to keep the river open:


“The Corps of Engineers, like any federal agency, does not have the option to pick and
choose which laws it’s going to obey and not obey.”


But critics say wildlife has paid for the Corps’ mandate. Over the years, dams
and channels eliminated a half a million acres of wetland habitat. Birds lost their
sandbar nesting grounds, and fish no longer found shallow backwaters to lay their
eggs.


Among the hardest hit animals is the pallid sturgeon. It’s a long, flat-nosed fish
that dates back to the T-Rex. It’s been around 70 million years, and for the last
17, it’s been on the endangered species list.


Chad Smith directs the Nebraska field office of the environmental group
American Rivers. He says the pallid sturgeon’s fate shows the whole river is in
jeopardy:


“When it starts to decline, you know, that kind of creature that’s so in tune with the
Missouri as it was, is an indicator that maybe something’s not right, and it’s going to be
the first thing to fall.”


So Congress told the Corps to take on a recovery mission. The agency spends
more than 50 million dollars a year to rebuild shallow water habitat for fish and
birds. The Corps hopes a water resources bill pending in Congress will increase
its habitat restoration budget to 80 million dollars.


In 2006, the Corps launched its most controversial restoration program to date. It
released extra water from a South Dakota reservoir to mimic the natural flood
pulse that occurs on the Missouri River every spring. That triggers the sturgeon
to spawn.


Conservationists herald last year’s man-made spring rise as a long overdue sign
of progress. But barge companies on the lower Missouri are upset. They say
the spring rise brings a drop in the river’s depth in the summer… which means
less cargo they’re carrying and less money they’re making.


For The Environment Report, I’m Kevin Lavery.


ANCHOR TAG: Tomorrow, Kevin reports on the commercial barge
industry’s concerns over the Army Corps of Engineers’ control of the big
rivers.

Related Links

Great Lakes Water Levels Drop

  • The International Joint Commission will be studying water levels to find out why Lake Michigan (pictured) and the other upper Great Lakes have been lower. (Photo by Lester Graham)

A five year, 15 million dollar study will look at water levels of the Great Lakes.
Chuck Quirmbach reports on some of the concerns:

Transcript

A five year, 15 million dollar study will look at water levels of the
Great Lakes. Chuck Quirmbach reports:


Since 1911, the U.S.-Canadian International Joint Commission, or IJC, has
regulated how much water flows out of Lake Superior and eventually into
the rest of the Great Lakes.


Currently, Lake Superior is near its record low level, and Lakes
Michigan and Huron are relatively low. That’s triggering several
problems, including forcing many ships to carry less cargo.


The IJC study will look into the potential reasons for the water level
changes. Study co-chair Eugene Stakhiv says it might not be a simple
matter:


“It’s a whole series of issues that we’re going to have to untangle and
then sort of resolve almost independently and then put the puzzle back
together again.”


Stakhiv says the study will look at big-picture topics, like the role
of climate change and how the channels between the lakes are
engineered.


For the Environment Report, I’m Chuck Quirmbach.

Related Links