After Wild Decade, Lake Michigan Water Levels Near Normal
Published: Wednesday, July 12, 2023 12:00 pm
By: Jeff Alexander, WBAY
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - After a decade of drastic shifts between record lows and record highs, Lake Michigan waters levels are just four inches above their long-term average for the month of July.
In 2013, Lake Michigan and Bay of Green Bay water levels fell to their lowest point in recorded history, causing all kinds of issues.
The lack of water forced cargo ships to carry lighter loads, causing heavy economic losses, and left boat docks high and dry, leading municipalities and marinas to spend tens of thousands of dollars on dredging projects.
Bob and Diana Schuh, from Appleton, remember that summer well.
“A friend of ours let us use a place up in Door County and we pulled in there to use it overnight and we walked down to the water and the water was way out there, I mean a football field, we just couldn’t imagine how somebody would ever use that spot,” recalls Bob Schuh.
By 2020, the tide had turned, and record high water levels left property owners along the bay scrambling to apply for emergency permits to bring in material to beef up their breakwaters with rip rap to protect their homes from flooding and erosion.
“Then you’re walking through water on your dock and that’s not fun either,” recalls Chad Veldhouse of the high-water mark.
Veldhouse and his family traveled from Grand Rapids, across Lake Michigan to Green Bay on July 4th.
He says water levels near their long-term average, provide for a less stressful journey, especially navigating the bay.
“Normal is good, I feel like when it’s not normal it can be a nightmare for boaters to run aground, especially if you have a good size boat,” says Veldhouse.
The good news is these normal water levels are here to stay, at least for a while.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers predicts levels to remain unchanged through the summer.
tags: Great Lakes, Lake Michigan, Wisconsin
