Water quality issues fall into three categories:
The Water Levels Committee works with Georgian Bay Forever and other NGOs to voice the interests of GBA members on water levels.
Learn more about what we do, as well as get tips on what you can do in this section.
Water Satellite Imagery
View a real time satellite image of the Bay here:
From a month ago: Lake Superior and Lake Michigan-Huron water levels are up 1 to 2 inches; and Lakes St. Clair, Erie, and Ontario are 1, 4, and 8 inches, respectively, below. The levels for all of the lakes on October 11th were lower than the lakes’ October record high monthly average levels by a range of 1 to 7 inches. In addition, the lakes are 7 to 18 inches higher than they were at this time last year. Both Lakes Superior and Michigan-Huron are predicted to fall 2 inches over the next 30 days, while Lakes St. Clair and Erie are projected to decline 4 to 5 inches. The level of Lake Ontario is projected to drop 7 inches over the next month. Outflow from Lake Superior into the St. Mary’s River is forecasted to be above average for October. Lake Michigan-Huron’s outflow through th
The end of September and beginning of October was quite wet across the Great Lakes region. Another round of showers is expected over the weekend as a frontal system begins to move through the region on Saturday. A transition to dryer conditions is expected for the work week, which will provide some relief to areas that have experienced riverine flooding as a result of the recent wet conditions. Lakes Superior and Michigan-Huron are 1 to 2 inches higher than last month, while Lakes St. Clair, Erie, and Ontario are lower by 1, 4, and 9 inches, respectively. All lakes are currently below their highest October average level by 1 to 7 inches. All of the lakes are expected to decline over the next month, despite slight rises in water level during this past week due to the recent rainfall even
In the past week temperatures were generally 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, 6 to 12 degrees above normal for the Great Lakes basin, for this time of the year. With the exception of Lake Superior, which is up about 2 inches due to wet conditions, all the Great Lakes water levels are lower than a month ago. Over the next month lake levels are expected to continue their seasonal decline, Lake Superior is forecasted to drop by 2 inches, while Michigan-Huron, St. Clair, Erie and Ontario are forecasted to drop another 3, 4, 5, and 6 inches, respectively. Outflow from Lake Superior into the St. Mary’s River is forecasted to be above average for September. Lake Michigan-Huron’s outflow through the St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair’s outflow through the Detroit River, are also projected
The US Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) in Michigan are warning that water levels for Lake Michigan-Huron will start higher in 2020 than they did in 2019. Winter snowfall and spring weather conditions will dictate whether water levels will break existing records next summer. The USACE is also warning that although the Great Lakes have started their seasonal declines, the higher water levels may still pose problems as fall tends to see strong storm systems over the Great Lakes. Read more here.
A warming trend, which started last week and was strongest further south, continued through the weekend leaving temperatures above normal for nearly the entire Great Lakes basin by the start of this week. Warmer temperatures have continued and are expected to remain through this weekend, with highs in the 70s for the upper lakes and into the 80s for the lower lakes. Water levels in all the Great Lakes are continuing their seasonal decline and are all lower than one month ago, but Lake Superior is at its highest level for September, Lakes St. Clair and Erie are above by 1 and 2 inches, respectively, and Lakes Michigan-Huron and Ontario are below by 4 and 8 inches, respectively. Lake levels are forecasted to continue their seasonal decline into October with predicted net decreases of 1 in
The Canada-Ontario Agreement on Great Lakes Water Quality and Ecosystem Heath is the federal-provincial agreement that outlines how the government of Canada and Ontario provincial ministries coordinate their efforts to protect and conserve the Great Lakes ecosystem. This agreement is important as it binds Ontario into the provisions of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between Canada and the US. Accordingly, GBA pulled together a comprehensive submission to address the many issues and action items that affect Georgian Bay. In addition to input from many of your GBA directors, particularly Claudette Young on the aquaculture content, we would like to thank: the Township of the Archipelago; and Georgian Bay Forever, Georgian Bay Land Trust and Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve for their ef
Lake Superior’s temperature has risen 2°C in the last 30 years. Although that may seem insignificant, scientists are concerned that this minor temperature increase is having a major impact on the ecosystem. The warming trend is particularly worrying due to the increase of blue-green algae blooms turning up in this once cold and pristine lake. Read more about the concern here. For more on why Great Lakes temperatures are on the rise and what it means, click here.
The majority of the Great Lakes have entered their seasonal declines at this time but levels are still high compared to long term averages. Lake Superior and Lake St. Clair are one inch above their highest monthly average for September, Lake Erie is 2 inches above and Lakes Michigan-Huron and Ontario are 5 inches below. Lake levels are forecasted to continue their seasonal decline headed into October with predicted net decreases of 1 inch on Lake Superior, 3 inches on Lake Michigan-Huron, 5 inches on both Lake St. Clair and Erie, and 8 inches on Lake Ontario. Outflows from Lake Superior into the St. Mary’s River are forecasted to be above average for September. Lake Michigan-Huron’s outflow through the St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair’s outflow through the Detroit River, are al
Currently Lakes Superior and Ontario are at their highest September monthly average, Lake Michigan-Huron is 4 inches below, and Lakes St. Clair and Erie are 1 and 3 inches, respectively, above. Above average water levels will continue on the Great Lakes over the next month even though all of the lakes are predicted to continue their seasonal decline. Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St. Clair, Erie, and Ontario are forecasted to fall 1, 2, 5, 6, and 12 inches, respectively. Outflow from Lake Superior into the St. Mary’s River is forecasted to be above average for September. Lake Michigan-Huron’s outflow through the St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair’s outflow through the Detroit River, are also projected to be above average in September. Moreover, Lake Erie’s outflow through th
Gail Krantzberg, a McMaster engineering professor, has co-edited a study that illustrates the economic and community benefits of cleaning up the Great Lakes. Her case study examined the transformation of Collingwood's harbour from an industrial brownfield, to a vibrant waterfront with beautiful homes and re-naturalized wetlands. The project, which cost about $3 million, is now bringing in $1 million per year in property taxes and non-tax revenue. Read more about the project and the case study on rehabilitation here.
High water levels are expected to continue on the Great Lakes despite the fact that all of the lakes are forecast to continue their seasonal declines over the next month. Lakes Superior, St. Clair and Erie are currently at their highest monthly average August water levels, whereas Lake Michigan-Huron is 4 inches below and Lake Ontario is 7 inches below their highest monthly average August levels. All of the Great Lakes are forecast to have a net decline in water level over the next month, with Lakes Superior and Michigan-Huron falling 2 and 3 inches, respectively and Lakes St. Clair, Erie, and Ontario falling 4, 6, and 10 inches, respectively. Lake Superior’s outflow through the St. Mary’s River and the Lake Michigan-Huron’s outflow through the St. Clair River are predicted to be
GBA continues to closely monitor the impacts on water quality from the fish farm operation at Lake Wolsey, an embayment of the North Channel on the north coast of Manitoulin island. We received photographs taken on the August Civic Holiday weekend by a local resident of the nasty blankets of algae in this bay, which prohibited normal enjoyment and impacted the safety of the waters. View the photos here: Algae on Lake Wolsey The same embayment has had annual toxic blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) outbreaks as seen in the photo. These outbreaks pose a threat to humans, wildlife and pets. Public Health warnings are issued when this occurs. There appears to be a rise in dog deaths in North America from ingesting water containing cyanobacteria. Read more about it here.
