Lakes St. Clair, Erie water levels recede slightly
Water levels for Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair remain dangerously high but they're down slightly from where they were a year ago.
The first update by the U.S. army Corps of Engineers for 2021 says the average water level for January on Lake St. Clair will be 30 millimetres lower than 2020 while the level on Lake Erie will dip 15 millimetres.
“It's good news, bad news with all of this,” said Tim Byrne, interim general manager for the Essex Region Conservation Authority.
While lake levels are keeping form with an annual cyclical recession, the lack of ice cover due to mild weather conditions leave area shorelines prone to further storm damage and erosion.
“We should be in our hard freeze and generating some ice cover,” Byrne said.
“That's not the case. So far, winter has not actually visited us yet,” he added.
Byrne said winter storms have the potential to create the most damaging, disruptive winds.
“With open water being present, our Lake Erie municipalities are all threatened by the potential for winter storms with no ice to protect the shoreline,” he said.
If the region gets through winter with mild temperatures and relatively dry conditions, the lake levels will continue to recede.
Byrne noted his relief that the area has so far avoided the heavy deluge of more than 50 mm of rain that fell over a 24-hour period in early January of last year.
That one event affected the entire Great Lakes basin and saw levels jump up and then hold through winter and early spring.
Both lakes remain well above their monthly long-term averages, with St. Clair 736 mm higher and Erie 660 mm higher.
“High water levels and potentially record high water levels are expected to persist for at least the next six months so flood prone areas are expected to remain vulnerable,” the Army Corps of Engineers update said.
With high lake levels persisting for the past six years, ERCA has been processing permits for breakwalls and shoreline protection at record rates.
Byrne, however, said there are still “thousands of properties that have not had the opportunity to upgrade protection. “
Lakes Michigan, Superior and Huron all set high-water records in 2020 while Erie and Ontario were way above average.