Officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are scheduled to give an update this week on the low water levels on Lake Michigan.
A media teleconference has been scheduled for Wednesday to discuss the water levels on Lake Superior and Lakes Michigan and Huron, which are within inches of reaching their lowest level in nearly 50 years.
The Corps monitors and forecasts Great Lakes water levels in partnership with Environment Canada. They predict if current trends continue, Lake Michigan-Huron could hit historic lows in late Fall 2012 and early 2013. (Because of their link at the Straits of Mackinac, Lakes Michigan and Huron are treated as one for forecasting purposes.)
The Corps attributes the low lake levels to natural causes that include below average precipitation, above average evaporation rates and a below average amount of water available from the recent winter snowpack. Other reports suggest past dredging projects in the St. Clair River have had the biggest effect.
Water levels on the other Great Lakes are also lower than average, but not expected to reach historic lows through early 2013.