Record high water levels continue for the Great Lakes
ALPENA, Mich. — The Great Lakes are continuing to show record water levels. Lakes Michigan, Huron, St. Clair, and Erie have set new monthly mean water level records for may of 2020. The previous record for lakes Huron and Michigan were set in 1986.
May was pretty dry, but the middle of the month brought heavy rain to some areas of the basin. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, says that they expect the water levels will continue to be near or above record highs on all of the Great Lakes except for Ontario.
Those who were impacted by the high water levels last year, are being advised to prepare for similar or worse impacts over the next coming months. Higher than normal water levels are turning some parts of one Alpena neighborhood into a mini–marsh of sorts. Several front lawns on Wall and Mac Ave. are being overtaken by rising water.
Bob Nielsen lives in the neighborhood and says while the situation is out of his control, until water levels return to normal, he’s choosing to be a good sport about it. “I don’t like to see it but there’s nothing we can do,” he said. “Typically, into May and first of June, these ditches are all dry and you can mow the ditches, but this year and last year they’re flooded. We’ve never had water in the driveway like this.”
Lakes Michigan and Huron are expected to have peak water levels next month.
