The father of a friend of mine is trying to sell his cottage on the shores of Lake Huron. He’s had to lower the asking price because buyers aren’t biting, and he’s likely not the only seller in this predicament. The probable reason: the low water level. Where once there was water, enough to swim in, there is now just sludge. And, unfortunately, the prospect of the situation getting much better is also pretty low. The International Upper Great Lakes Study said as much in its final report, released in March.

It’s not just the Great Lakes, however, it seems low water levels are common across Ontario. Parks Canada has released a notice that the hot and dry summer conditions this year have increased evaporation rates across the Trent-Severn watersheds, and with Environment Canada predicting a warmer than normal autumn, higher than normal evaporation will continue. We may get more snow than usual this coming winter, though, so who knows what next spring will bring. For some perspective on this year’s water level conditions on lakes in the Trent-Severn watersheds, go to the water level app on the Parks Canada site, which has historic high and low conditions for comparison.