Boating levels likely to dip again during coming season

Water levels across the Great Lakes are projected to drop below last year’s levels over the next six months during Michigan’s peak boating season, according to the latest forecast by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Most of the lakes see a winter seasonal decline in water levels but begin to rise by March, according to the report. With spring just around the corner, the seasonal rises are expected to begin or continue this month, but projections indicate water levels still will fail to reach last year’s levels by July, continuing a three-year decline since the record or near-record level water marks of 2019 and 2020.

That means concerns about shoreline erosion will lessen and may stretch some beaches. In 2020, lakefront property homeowners saw high water levels on Lakes Michigan, Huron, Erie and Superior and significant property damage.

The Michigan Department of Transportation spent $6 million in 2021 repairing 4 miles of roadway on Mackinac Island. On the shore of Lake Michigan, homes fell from bluffs collapsing into the water.

The iconic, beloved Round Island Lighthouse, a half-mile south of Mackinac Island, stood amid lake levels that were 4 feet higher than normal. A benefactor paid for limestone boulders, about 400 to 450 each about the size of a refrigerator, to expand the break wall by 8 feet into Lake Huron.

The Corps’ provisional data indicates that each lake basin had one of its top 10 driest Februarys in over a century; Lakes Superior and Erie had below-average water supplies for the month. The lack of precipitation likely contributed to low water supplies to Lakes Superior and Erie last month, the report said.

“Preliminary estimates indicate all lakes basins experienced under 1 inch of precipitation in February and were all well below average,” according to the March report of lake levels of the Great Lakes.

While Lakes Huron and Michigan received above-average water supplies over the last three months, water levels still are projected to drop below last year’s March-toAugust levels.

Water levels between March and August:

• Lake Superior was 8 inches below last February’s monthly average and is projected to be between 7-14 inches lower than last year.

• Water levels in Lake Michigan and Lake Huron were near last year’s level in February and are predicted to be 1-6 inches below 2023 levels.

• Water levels in Lake Erie were 3 inches above February 2023 levels and are predicted to be 2-6 inches lower than they were last year.

• Lake Ontario was 2 inches below last February’s level and is projected to be between 5-11 inches lower than last year’s March-toAugust stretch.

• Lake St. Clair’s water levels are 2 inches above last February and are projected to stay between 3-9 inches below last year’s levels.