Lake Michigan's Water Level Is Increasing At A Historic Rate

Lake Michigan's water level is 4 feet higher today than it was 5 years ago. Should we worry?

I saw an interesting piece as WoodTV talked to Tom O'Bryan of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers about this Tuesday Evening,

“(The five-year increase is) a historic event. We haven’t had that kind of increase in forever,” O’Bryan said. “Lake Superior is running some daily high records right now for this time of year. Lake Ontario hit highs in the summer of 2017.”

He also pointed out that a major concern is erosion of the shoreline,

“There have been a few houses that have fallen in down in the New Buffalo area actually, in the southern end of Lake Michigan last year. And there’s some that are very close to having catastrophes for this upcoming season,” O’Bryan said. “We’re already seeing an influx of permit requests to build shoreline protection — some emergency protection going on there.”

With an increase of foot since last year and 4 feet over the last 5 years, it's definitely a red flag. They predict Lake Michigan could see another increase of 4-6 inches this year.

Michigan Is Not A Disaster Area