An international watchdog group hopes to study the effect of water flowing out of Lake Superior on the rest of the Great Lakes. It is thought that by controlling water from Superior, scientists can better control damaging level fluctuations in the other lakes. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Mike Simonson has the story:
Transcript
An international watchdog group hopes to study the effect of water flowing out of Lake Superior on the rest of the Great Lakes. It is thought that by controlling water from Superior, scientists can better control damaging level fluctuations in the other lakes. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Mike Simonson has the story:
Record high lake levels in the mid-1980’s caused extensive erosion, and below normal levels the past three years have forced ships to carry less cargo, to avoid running aground. The International Joint Commission’s Frank Bevaqua says this begs the question: Is the flow of water out of Lake Superior being handled correctly?
“There’s also the communities along the shoreline that may be susceptible to flooding and erosion and the recreational use of the lakes, particularly by boaters. And then there’s the environmental impact, which is probably the area in which we have the least precision in terms of what we know.”
The IJC is asking Washington and Ottawa to pay for a three-year study of the effect water flowing out of Lake Superior has on the other Great Lakes.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Mike Simonson.