Greetings from the Coastal Resilience Team!
This month's newsletter contains:
- Lake Michigan Water Level Update
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Resource of the Month: Blue Accounting
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Community Story: Cleveland Metroparks Recreates Lake Erie Shoreline
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Event: Lake Michigan Coastal Resilience Initiative
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Funding Opportunity: Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Funding
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The water levels on all the Great Lakes have continued to be below their monthly record highs as of July 30, 2021. Two inches higher than last month, Lake Michigan is now 17 inches below the highest recorded monthly average in July previously set just last year in 2020. Water levels are trending downwards and this can be explained by the Net Basin Supply (NBS). This past June is the fifth month in a row this year where NBS has been below average. While summer tends to be the season where lake levels increase, Lake Michigan is expected to decrease around 1-2 inches by this same time next month.
Check out these five things to know about water levels on Lake Michigan.
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"Blue Accounting is an information service to track the region’s progress toward shared goals for the Great Lakes. Maintained by the Great Lakes Commission, the information developed by Blue Accounting helps elected officials make sure that policies and programs are effective at protecting the largest fresh surface water system on earth."
This free, online database allows you to click through the three main segments of the website: Issues, Resources, and News. You can also look into the background of who Blue Accounting is, how they got started, partners, and services they offer. It is geared towards members of the public, decision-makers, students, research participants, educators, and anyone interested in issues regarding the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Commission and The Nature Conservancy co-lead Blue Accounting and collaborate with federal, state, provincial, local and private sector organizations.
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Coastal Resilience Stories from Around the Great Lakes |
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Cleveland Metroparks Recreates Lake Erie Shoreline |
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"Cleveland Metroparks and other public agencies want to transform part of the city’s East Side lakefront from a hard, mean-looking edge of sheet piling and boulders into tranquil coves and wetlands sheltered by a new offshore isle". Cleveland Harbor Eastern Embayment Resilience Study (CHEERS) is a year-long effort to understand how to protect the lakeshore and buffer them from severe storms and water level fluctuations. Cleveland Metroparks' plan is to use sediment dredged from the Cuyahoga River to thicken the shoreline and create about 80 acres of new parkland.
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Cleveland Metroparks unveils plan for 80 acres of new parkland along Cleveland lakefront. |
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Event
Participate in the Lake Michigan Coastal Resilience Initiative
Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have kicked a the Lake Michigan Coastal Resilience Initiative to help Great Lakes cities strengthen coastal resilience and respond to challenges such as shoreline erosion, flooding, and severe storm events.
This project will provide technical and contract support aimed at building capacity among Great Lakes cities to strengthen coastal resilience and respond to challenges such as shoreline erosion, flooding, and increasingly frequent severe storm events.
Phase 1 will consist of coastal trainings and workshops to identify help site-specific project work in the Lake Michigan basin. Virtual trainings on Nature-Based Solutions for Coastal Hazards will be held on August 12th and 31st.
Phase 2 will focus on selecting a suite of municipal-scale projects that will demonstrate sustainable approaches for cities experiencing acute coastal problems. Engineering and design plans will be developed for a minimum of two sites in the Lake Michigan basin.
A recent webinar introduced the Initiative; see the recording here and the powerpoint presentation here. Background is also available on NOAA’s website here.
If you are interested in participating, please fill out the expression of interest form online here.
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EPA Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Funding |
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August 20, 2021 – Applications are due 10:59 p.m CST
The funding is made possible by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which was launched in 2010 as a non-regulatory program to accelerate efforts to protect and restore the largest system of fresh surface water in the world. To read more about this RFA and other Great Lakes funding opportunities visit https://www.epa.gov/great-lakes-funding.
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If you have any questions about Lake Michigan coastal hazards or how to approach, plan, and prepare for them, please contact
Adam Bechle
608-263-5133
For more information, visit the Southeast Wisconsin Coastal Resilience Project website or the Northeast Wisconsin Coastal Resilience Study portal
Follow us on Twitter @sewiresilience for updates
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University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute | (608) 262-0905 | 1975 Willow Drive, 2nd Floor, Madison, WI 53706
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