Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat News
The Newsletter of the Great Lakes
Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund
The Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat News is the newsletter of the Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund, published five times per year. The News is intended to provide a forum for the free exchange of ideas among citizens and organizations working to protect aquatic habitats in the Great Lakes Basin.
Volume 15, Number 2 • Spring 2007
Lake Huron
Basin Update
A Call to Action on Water Levels
By Mary Lee, President, Georgian Bay Association
This article reprinted with permission from GBA UPDATE, Vol. 17 No. 2
Back in 2005, we reported on a six-month study conducted by
W.F. Baird & Associates Coastal Engineers for the Georgian Bay
Association (GBA) Foundation and the growing drain hole in the
St. Clair River. Recent data show that the hole has become even
bigger. In fact, three times more water than previously thought is
escaping every day. If we continue to lose our water at this rate,
we're going to lose more wetlands.Wetlands are the spawning
and nursery habitat for Georgian Bay's aquatic life. The
International Joint Commission has told us that when the St.
Lawrence Seaway was built, environmental impacts were not
considered. Now they must be, and that is why the research
funded by the Foundation and undertaken by McMaster
University wetlands biologists is so important.
What you can do to help
We need your help because sustained low water levels will
impact wetlands and water quality. Many of our communities in
enclosed bays, where circulation is limited, are at increased risk
for algal blooms if the water keeps going down. And climate
change is expected to make the situation much worse.
Stay informed, get involved, and make your voice heard. Check
our website for details on public meetings and please write to
the International Joint Commission (www.ijc.org) and your
government representatives asking that they act quickly.
We need mitigation soon. Examination of the St. Clair River
erosion and potential mitigation measure was added to the
Upper Lakes Study in May of 2005. At the time, it was to be
conducted at the start of the Study, with possible mitigation
solutions as early as 2009. Georgian Bay can’t wait for the entire
Upper Great Lakes Study to be completed, but unfortunately this
is now a distinct possibility.
Mitigation measures have been contemplated before. For
example, there is an outstanding order for mitigation in the St.
Clair River on which no action has been taken. On three
subsequent occasions, mitigation structures have been designed
but not constructed. In fact, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
(USACE) has admitted that at one point foundations were
actually built but that the work was never completed.
GBA has worked long and hard to get both Canada and U.S.
politicians onside and the funding approved for the St.Clair study.
We have members of our water levels committee on both the
Canadian and U.S. Public Interest Advisory Committees and the
Science Technical Advisory Committees. But the problem is now
urgent.
Three-dimensional modeling could determine where rocks
should be placed in the river to prevent further erosion. Previous
IJC and USACE plans have called for permanent structures but
these need further research as the riverbed has changed
significantly.
The GBA Foundation funded the Baird work that documented the
increased conveyance capacity of the St. Clair River (the outflow
of Lake Huron). This huge diversion of water was previously
unknown to any government agency.Now it is three times bigger.
GBA has to ensure that our governments find the appropriate
solutions.
Because this is such a huge undertaking for our organization, we
are once again reaching out to other groups on both sides of the
Great Lakes including the shipping industry. We're planning a
bi-national press release and will be speaking about water levels
at many venues over the summer. You will be hearing more. If
anyone has any other suggestions please contact Mary Muter at
mmuter@sympatico.ca.
For more information, contact GBA at gba@georgianbay.ca
or visit http://www.georgianbay.ca
|
