The Colbert Report - 2006.10.02 - Threat Down

YouTube - The Colbert Report - 2006.10.02 - Threat Down --

Steve Colbert features Oscoda as the #4 threat:

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Lake Superior closing in on record low level

The Muskegon Chronicle carried this article on the record low water level of Lake Superior:

The water level in Lake Superior is nearing its lowest point in the past century, according to the latest government data.

The water level in the world's second-largest lake dropped in September to within 2.5 inches of the record low for September, which was recorded in 1926, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

"We're getting pretty close" to the record low in Lake Superior, said Carl Woodruff, a hydraulic engineer at the Corps of Engineers office in Detroit.

Water levels in lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron are expected to continue to drop in the coming months, which is typical in the fall, according to the Corps. Lake levels are largely determined by the weather: below-average precipitation and above-average temperatures in recent years have caused levels in the three lakes to plummet, according to federal data.

Lake Superior water levels are significant locally because Superior is a major source of water in Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Lower lake levels can make shipping more hazardous.

The Lake Michigan water level is 19 inches below average for this time of year, but is still one foot above the record low recorded in 1964, according to Corps data. The lake water level dropped 3 inches in September, an inch more than normal for this time of year, according to federal data.