Drove up to Watkins Glen today - I was pouring through Harrisburg - driving US 15 that parallels the Susquehanna River - the river was as high as I have ever seen it - without flooding. The streams that I pass were all high.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Sing it Johnny...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhH8RCUDHSY
BaltACDThe streams that I pass were all high.
Everything is high here in NY - the rivers and streams, that is. We got 0.62" of rain at my house today. The Southern Tier has been getting more rain that we have up north.
You know you're in trouble when Lake Ontario and the St Lawrence River are running banks-full... Many docks are under water, and a lot of cottages now have moats - if the water's not inside.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
The Great Lakes are all high. Some are expected to break historical records this summer. A local news cast showed waves washing over people's lawns as ships passed by on the St Mary's River below the Soo Locks.
Same here in southeast. Lakes are all full or into the over full mark. rivers near flood stage. Every rain storm activates flash flood warnings.
BaltACD Drove up to Watkins Glen today - I was pouring through Harrisburg - driving US 15 that parallels the Susquehanna River - the river was as high as I have ever seen it - without flooding. The streams that I pass were all high.
Have driven that road many times, at least through MD, into PA as far north as Lewisburg. One night just as a monsoon-type downpour was ending hit a lake-size "puddle" that was several inches deep and found myself skating down the highway sideways at about 50 mph. Only light traffic and the grace of God kept me out of a bad accident or a trip into the river.
I just got back from western Michigan. Lake Michigan, and everything flowing into it, reflects the high lake level. It's not yet a record, but it may yet top the record this summer.At our family cottage, we used to walk across a number of rows of dunes to reach a decent expanse (12-20 feet) of beach on the shore of Lake Michigan. Now you walk across, and the last dune has a nine-foot-high sand cliff, followed by ker-plop!In Grand Haven, at least one marina has closed because it's inaccessible by road or water (docks are too low, possibly submerged). Water levels have gone up a couple of feet already this year. Even the beaches that still exist won't have too many swimmers, as the increased volume will not warm up to pleasant temperatures as quickly.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
CShaveRRIn Grand Haven, at least one marina has closed because it's inaccessible by road or water (docks are too low, possibly submerged). Water levels have gone up a couple of feet already this year.
That's our world. Many docks underwater, shoreline eroding. It's said that even if they could let water out at the highest possible flow (which would wreak havoc downstream and with shipping on the river) it would be mid-July before we saw any appreciable lowering of the water levels.
And remember - Lake Ontario takes in what Lake Erie can send her. And Erie is also well above normal, as well as taking in what Lake Huron/Lake St Clair can send her.
It's not pretty.
Many folks here are blaming a new water management plan for a good deal of the problem. Some even feel that the higher levels may be a "plot" by uber environmentalists to drive folks off the shorelines, allowing the shore areas to return to a "natural" state.
This is the second "100 year event" in three years. Somethin' ain't right.
Tree: Since Erie is so high how are the falls being handled? Is the Hydro electric plant running 24 / 7 ? Remember that the falls were often turned off during times of low water . Is that still true ?
ANd, people are sailing on the Great Salt Lake again--a few years ago, they had to get their boats out on land because the lake was so low.
Johnny
Johnny, they're sailing because they can no longer find a place to dock!Seriously, my sister and her husband had to add sixty feet of catwalk to get to their dock on the river (basically at the same level as Lake Michigan). The dock itself floats. When the water was so low only a few years ago, both the dock and the pontoon boat were mired in mud...rather solid, dry mud at that.When lake levels are low, folks along the shore complain about how Chicago is draining the Lake to flush down the Chicago River into the Gulf. I suspect that now they wish Chicago could leave its lock(s) open. But the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers are still kind of high, too.
tree68This is the second "100 year event" in three years. Somethin' ain't right.
That's because the concept is based upon probability, not measured history
Here is a little background
On the way home from The Glen, I notice that the Susquehana seems to be going down a little. At places where the river appeared to be solid 'smooth' water on my Northbound trip, on the Southbound trip 3 days later the rippling of the water flowing over the submerged rocks could be seen - how much longer until the rocks themselves become visible is open to question.
Nothing new. Natural hydrologic cycle.
Alarmism sells.
https://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2013/0207/Two-Great-Lakes-hit-record-low-levels-Climate-crisis-or-natural-cycle#
Convicted OneThat's because the concept is based upon probability, not measured history
The wild card here is that a new plan (2014d) was put in place several years ago to regulate the water levels and flows on the river.
The previous plan was put in place when the Seaway as we know it now opened. It ran for around sixty years without the problems we are seeing now.
While we've had some extraordinary rainfall at times, it's still hard not to place at least some blame on the new plan, climate change or not.
tree68it's still hard not to place at least some blame on the new plan, climate change or not.
I don't doubt that for a second. Somebody probably came along with an idea for "improvement"......with little information made public as to who's interest was "improved".
I think that the Army Corps of engineers came through here about 25 years ago (I live right on the divide between the Mississippi and Great Lakes basins) and made enhancements effectively allowing them to divert runoff towards the Great Lakes whenever "Mississippi river shipping is threatened" by high water events.
When you live downstream in the direction of the diversion, it's hard to be very enthused about man's mastery of nature.
Convicted OneI don't doubt that for a second. Somebody probably came along with an idea for "improvement"......with little information made public as to who's interest was "improved".
Oh, that's definitely a consideration, with "environmentalists" at the top of the list of suspected culprits. One wrote a letter to the local paper in which he suggested that people were going to have to get used to the "new" normal, which could be construed as flooded shorelines, rendering a great many cottages completely useless...
That floodwater diversion I mentioned could be contributing to your sinking shorelines as well. The ACE probably employed similar tactics all along the divide, to protect waterway commerce on the mighty Mississippi.
Diversions along a watershed divide could have a big influence on the rivers involved, however, man-made inflow or outflow has little effect on the Great Lakes basin, whose levels are controlled by evaporation and precipitation, much more so than river basins.
The attitude toward diversion can swing pretty wildly depending on the levels of the Great Lakes, especially Lake Michigan. When the level of Lake Michigan has been low, interests in other states complain loudly about the diversion into the Chicago River. When lake levels are high, the same interests plead for increased diversion at the same point.
Ten years ago, Lake Michigan was approaching its lowest level and the Washington Island ferries were having concerns about running aground at their docks so they (with help from the state) had dredging done. And then the rains came and now their docks may have to be raised. Then, we were going up the boats's ramps to reach the dock, now we go down to the dock as the deck is higher. The only constant is change.
blue streak 1 Tree: Since Erie is so high how are the falls being handled? Is the Hydro electric plant running 24 / 7 ? Remember that the falls were often turned off during times of low water . Is that still true ?
There is a Treaty in place between Canada and the US governing the flow of water over the falls. IIRC it specifies the minimum number of acre feet / second of water flow. In times of low water, power plants on the Canadian side of the Niagara river were required to cut back their intake capacity (and thus their output) to maintain this minimum flow. I'm not sure how the US handles this situation.
The International Weir above the Horseshoe Falls regulates flow over the falls proper.
In times of high water I imagine they use all the water they can and spill the rest as long as they don't flood. Eventually it will go downstream through the Great Lakes Watershed.
When I worked at Whitehorse Rapids GS high water flow could mean trouble, requiring us to put in wooden retainers on the downside of the plant to prevent high water from entering the plant and flooding the turbine and generator floors. We'd spill all the water we could to prevent overtopping the forebay and intakes and generate as much as we could.
In my time we never did, although the our regional manager would call the plant regularly in high water wanting to know how much water we were spilling in order to assess the situation and order cutbacks and highwater protection.
That's one plant. Other systems and plants would likely have protocols in place to deal with this type os situation.
Charlie
Chilliwack, BC
I wasn't familiar with the International Weir, so I had to check the map. It doesn't go all the way across the river, so it's not really controlling the total flow over the falls.
The limitation is the flow capacity of the Niagara River. The Welland Canal contributes virtually nothing in that regard.
I have read that they've got the power project cranking out all the power it can - taking advantage of it, really.
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