March 28, 2012
Experts Recommend New Regulation Plan for Lake Superior Outflows
Improved Plan More Robust, Provides Additional Benefits to Environment
The International Upper Great Study (IUGLS) today announced they have recommended an improved regulation plan for outflows from Lake Superior. The new plan – Lake Superior Regulation Plan 2012 – is more robust than the existing plan and provides important benefits, especially to the environment. Made up of a panel of experts from Canada and the U.S., the recommendation is the highlight of their final, peer-reviewed report to the International Joint Commission (IJC), marking the end of the $14.6 million ($17.6 million Cdn.) five-year study.
State-of-the-art climate research. The report provides cutting edge scientific information regarding the impacts of climate change on the upper Great Lakes. In particular, the Study found that changes in lake levels may not be as extreme over the next 30 years as previous studies have predicted. This finding reflects a trend of increasing evaporation, likely due to lack of ice cover, and increasing water temperatures and wind speeds, with the resulting reduction in water supplies largely offset by increased precipitation. Projections suggest that lake levels will remain within a relatively narrow historical range with lower levels likely though higher levels are possible at times.
Improved protections for fish habitat.
Based on a shared vision planning process, the Study identified a regulation
regulation plan that is superior to the current plan, which has been in place
since 1990, especially under conditions of lower water supplies. For example...
