On the recordDecember 19, 2012
I want to bring attention to a significant disaster situation in the Great Lakes region. As a result of a deadly combination of the Midwest drought and an unusually warm winter, the Great Lakes are at near record low water levels. The Army Corps of Engineers reports that Lakes Michigan and Huron are more than 2 feet below their long-term average. Lake Superior is more than 1 foot below its long-term average. Keith Kompoltowicz, chief of watershed hydrology for the Army Corps of Engineers, has said regarding the Great Lakes water levels, ``There is a good chance of setting record lows.'' The situation in the Great Lakes has resulted in freighters getting stuck in channels, ships carrying reduced loads leading to millions of dollars in losses, harbors closing or being threatened with closure, and so-called Harbors of Refuge not being able to provide shelter to boaters in distress.
