Lake ‘most healthy’ of the Great Lakes
LAKE HURON—It’s a far cry from the 2013 water levels stories this newspaper reported on that shared the news of frighteningly low water levels in the Great Lakes. At the beginning of May, Lake Huron water levels are well above average.
Derrick Beach, water resources engineer with Environment and Climate Change Canada, told The Expositor in a Monday interview that as of May 1, Lake Huron is 65 centimetres above average and 24 centimetres above last year’s beginning of May figures.
There’s no need to panic, though; Lake Huron is still 17 centimetres below the 1986 highs that caused much consternation on the lake.
“There’s still a ways to go,” Mr. Beach commented. “Lake Huron is the only lake where, even if we experience extremely wet conditions for the next six months, we still aren’t expecting to break records.”
Mr. Beach continued to note that Lake Erie has broken a beginning-of-May record and Superior is coming close to it too, which will have implications on the outflow into Lake Huron.
“(Lake Huron) is probably the best off of the Great Lakes,” Mr. Beach added.
The reason for Lake Huron’s current status is a trend of above average precipitation. January was an average month in terms of water levels remaining stagnant, but February to April saw small increases in water levels, which rarely occurs during this time of year. Mr. Beach said evaporation was average to less-than-average, which would have played a role in the increase.
There was a 20 centimetre rise over April, the sixth highest rise for that month on record. The average April rise is 11 centimetres, which was mainly due to precipitation and the snow melt.
