After the International Joint Commission’s warning that the Great Lakes were in serious trouble and to expect lower water levels, they’ve encountered quite the surprise.
The Great Lakes’ water levels are rising, and drastically.
In 2013, the International Joint Commission – involving Canada and the United States – completed a five-year study on the deteriorating water levels of the Great Lakes. Global warming activists warned of the impending economic doom. A little over one year ago, The New York Times and USA Today were reporting that the Great Lakes hit all time lows in the water levels. According to those reports, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan were 29 inches below their average measurements taken since 1918.
Scientists warned communities that they could only expect more tragedy with the Great Lakes. With a lack of rain from climate change, they told everyone to expect levels to continue to drop. Even last week, Canadian news outlet CTV News reported that sinking water levels in the Great Lakes could have severe economic impacts and cost the U.S. and Canada billions of dollars. Mark Fisher, the leader of the Mowat Centre for the Council of the Great Lakes Region, said the downturn could be severe.
“Climate change is real, it’s happening today, the potential economic impact of climate change particularly on water levels is significant,” Fisher said.
“The challenge that people have is [climate change] is gradual, it’s incremental, it’s hard to see,” Fisher continued. “So when water levels go back up, they say the problem has gone away.”
But scientists cannot ignore the rapid increase of water levels that has occurred in Great Lakes since the conclusion of the study. The New York Times reported that levels are rising at a remarkable rate.
Gene Clark, a coastal engineer with the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute, said the increase is long overdue.
“We’ve had a rebound that we haven’t seen in many, many years,” Clark said. “We’ve been historically below average, and now we are finally back to above-average water levels. At this time last year, I was talking to Wisconsin state legislators about what was happening, why the levels were so low and what could the State of Wisconsin do about it. It was very much a crisis.”
Three of the Great Lakes, Huron, Michigan and Superior, are over 12 inches higher than they were in 2013 – a time they were experiencing record lows. They’re even expected to rise a few more inches. Meanwhile, Lake Ontario and Lake Erie have also had a substantial rise in water levels, ranging from seven to nine inches.
Scientists partially attribute the rise in water levels to the frigid winters and abundance of rain in the Midwest, but climate change activists failed to predict the dramatic reversal of trends.
People all over the Great Lakes Region are amazed and relieved at the significant increase in water levels. It’s restoring confidence, reviving businesses and boosting local economies.
Office manager of the Great Lake ferries, Bill Shultz, described the sentiments of the community in regards to the fluctuating levels of the Great Lakes.
“Everybody was panicking,” Schutz said. “Looking around now, it’s unbelievable how much the water has come up.”