DETROIT (AP) --
Experts predict that Great Lakes water levels will rise for a fifth
consecutive year.
The U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers says all five lakes should reach above-average levels in 2018,
continuing a steady recovery from record lows in 2013.
The corps recently
released a forecast for the next six months. It predicts Lake Superior will
break a record high level set in the mid-1980s.
Hydraulic engineer
Lauren Fry tells The Detroit News that Superior already was just 4 inches
below the record in December, and that’s before it receives water from this
spring’s rains and snow melt.
The Great Lakes’
upward trend means pleasure boaters and commercial shippers won’t have to
worry about hitting bottom in shallow channels. But environmental regulators
warn of shoreline erosion in some places.