AWRI hosts public meeting for Great Lakes Study

The International Upper Great Lakes Study will hold a public input meeting at Grand Valley State University’s Annis Water Resources Institute in Muskegon.

The July 30 meeting is one of two scheduled for Michigan. Public meetings are being held throughout the region this summer to provide information regarding the status of the second and final phase of the study on Great Lakes water levels. The public will have an opportunity to hear from Study Board members and researchers about preliminary findings and potential regulation plans.

Upper Great Lakes Study meeting
Saturday, July 30
10 a.m.-noon
GVSU’s Annis Water Resources Institute
740 W. Shoreline Drive, Muskegon

Topics covered at the meeting will include:
• The potential to improve the regulation plan for Lake Superior outflows at Sault Ste. Marie as well as the need for ongoing monitoring to allow for adaptive management;
• Restoration scenarios for Lake Michigan-Huron water levels, including an exploratory analysis of potential lake restoration options;
• Multi-lake regulation options

The Study Board is working with a Public Interest Advisory Group (PIAG) to bring a wide range of perspectives to the study process, including those of shoreline property owners, boaters, anglers, governments, Native Americans, First Nations, hydroelectric power producers and environmental and shipping organizations. Alan Steinman, director of AWRI, serves on PIAG.

Input received in Muskegon and at other meetings will help inform the drafting of a final, peer-reviewed Phase 2 report to be submitted to the International Joint Commission in March 2012.

For more information on the study visit www.iugls.org. For additional information contact John Nevin at (519) 257-6733 or [email protected] or GVSU News and Information Services at (616) 331-2221.