How low will it go?
Georgian Bay reaches its lowest ebb since mid-sixties
By Heather Ruta - Express Staff

According to Ralph Moulton, manager of the Water Level Information Office at Environment Canada, the water in Georgian Bay is 57cm below average and about 26 cm above the record low set in 1964.

"From now until July it is expected to go up by about 15cm, which is slightly below last years levels," said Moulton in an interview with The Express.

In the Great Lakes basin, the levels of lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron have fallen for the fourth year in a row.

Lake Superior's level has not been lower at this time since 1926, and lakes Michigan and Huron, which rise and fall as one lake, have not been lower at this time of the year since the mid-1960s. All three are expected to remain below chart datum into the month of May.

Below average water levels on Georgian Bay have boaters and residents worried.

Richardson Boat Works has been working at dredging the area along its finger docks on the west side of the old harbour.

"Last summer the municipality spent a lot of money on dredging so that the town's docking system could stay in business," said Dave Richardson of Richardson's Boats, who finds himself in the same predicament this year.

"The low water levels has caused some bad publicity because people figure that they can't use their boats because of low water, but it's not that bad," he added.

Dave Hardie, the Municipality of Meaford's Harbour Master says they are "coping" with the low water levels at the harbour.

"We have had to make a few adjustments, like the dredging that was done last year, to accommodate for the sail boats that will dock in the harbour this year," he said. "We are not sure how this is going to effect transient boaters, we are just going to have to wait and see if they are going to venture in to the harbour, but we are concerned about the deep draft boats being able to access the old river basin," said Hardie.

Georgian Bay has been declining since it reached an all-time high in 1986.

Chuck Southam, a water-resources engineer at Environment Canada, says water levels are affected by a number of factors.

A lack of ice coverage on the lakes has allowed for more water to evaporate, which has contributed to the lower water levels.

Recent dry weather has also lowered ground water levels and the earth is acting like a giant sponge, soaking up a lot of water that would otherwise reach the Great Lakes.

Off-shore winds, lack of precipitation, and lake effect snow, can also effect water levels.

"Last summer the lakes were very warm and in the late fall we had a couple of cold snaps that caused lake effect snow," explained Southam. "The lake effect snow pulls water from the lakes and there is no guarantee that we will get that water back."

Southam said the levels of Lake Superior and Georgian Bay, as of April 18, 2001, are about 13cm below chart datum. Chart datum is the reference level used to define depths on navigational charts,"

Southam warns boaters to "pay close attention to the water levels and charts before going out on your boat and for divers make sure that you look before you dive because water levels are a lot lower than people are used to."

"We can't help the water levels but at least for those with beach front property they will finally have a beach," added Hardie.