Low water levels bedevil Great Lakes harbors

NEW BUFFALO, Mich. — This town has 1,884 residents and almost 1,000 boat slips filled by summer visitors, so low water levels in Lake Michigan threaten its economic stability and its identity as "the heart of harbor country."

No wonder Jim Oselka, who runs Oselka Marina, a family business founded here in 1957,says, "Every time I see it raining, I'm like 'Yes!' "

The water lapping against the marina's 150 boat slips is 15 inches lower than it was a year ago, forcing Oselka to consider dredging for the first time since the 1960s. He has to have enough clearance to accommodate sailboats with 5-foot keels.

"I'm anticipating a good season. And I'm hoping and praying that water levels have hit their low, and they're going to go back the other way," Oselka says.

That wish is shared by communities and businesses all along the coasts of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, which set record lows in January and are expected to stay 2 feet below long-term averages at least through August. Blame the extended drought and hot weather that speeds evaporation, says Keith Kompoltowicz, chief of watershed hydrology for the Army Corps of Engineers' Detroit district.

The mean water level in January was 576.02 feet above sea level, he says, breaking the previous record of 576.05 in March 1964. The corps started keeping records in 1918.

Declining lake levels are causing problems across the region, says Chuck May of the Great Lakes Small Harbors Coalition, which represents small harbors authorized and maintained by the federal government. Michigan has 56 of the 112 Great Lakes small harbors.

"It gives me chills just to think about what will happen if we don't do something about it," he says. "Harbor after harbor is in danger of shutting down this summer."

Inaccessible harbors mean trouble for marinas, restaurants, resorts and almost every other business in waterfront towns, May says, and commercial shippers must lighten their loads, increasing costs for their customers and consumers.

A lack of Army Corps of Engineers funding means communities must rely on state and local money for dredging, he says. The organization supports pending federal legislation that would require the corps to spend the $1.5 billion raised annually through harbor maintenance taxes on harbors; much of the money now goes into the treasury.

The problem extends beyond lakes Michigan and Huron. Mike Waterhouse, sportfishing coordinator for Orleans County Tourism in New York state, says its Lake Ontario harbor has less than half its usual 8-foot depth and there's little chance of dredging this year.

That endangers the area's 33 charter boats and a fishing fleet that contributes $7 million annually to the local economy, he says. "Last year we had 12 reported incidents of boats either going aground coming into our harbor or doing damage to their drive structures," he says, "and that was just the reported incidents. Something has to be done."

New Buffalo used to get federal funds for dredging its harbor, but this year's project — which could cost more than $1 million — is being paid for by state money, a city emergency dredging fund, local businesses and the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, which operates the Four Winds Casino here.

The city is seeking bids now for dredging the waterway from the city boat launch through a channel by April 30, says Ryan Fellows, assistant to the city manager. The Michigan Legislature is considering bills that would cut costs for dredging permit fees and allocate $21 million for emergency dredging of 49 public harbors.

Fellows says dredging alone won't fix New Buffalo's problems: In a few years, dredging could expose the bottom of the seawall, allowing water to flow beneath it.

New Buffalo harbor master Robin Abshire says this spring's dredging is essential. Sailboats with 5-foot keels would be unable to access the city marina now. Some slips were unusable last fall because low water left a stretch of lake bottom exposed, she says, and some vehicles were damaged by a gap between the city boat launch and the water.

Abshire says a long-term plan to keep harbors open and the money to pay for maintenance are essential. The harbor generates $7.7 million in annual revenue for the area and supports 130 jobs that produce $2.5 million in labor income every year.

"If this harbor were closed," she says, "New Buffalo would be a ghost town."

Oselka, who has 12 full-time employees and hires more workers in the summer, is rooting for state legislation that would give private marina owners low-interest loans for dredging, and he's grateful New Buffalo's harbor will be dredged.

"We're in better shape than a lot of harbors," he says.