Monday, January 21, 2013

Water Levels on Georgian Bay Dangerously Low

Beausoleil Island on Georgian Bay Near Honey Harbour
Water levels on the very rock filled bottom of Georgian Bay are dropping drastically this past fall and making dock approaches hazardous if not downright impossible.

If you've ever canoed this stretch, you'll see pike and bass in the spring mating amongst the reeds.  They're so big and floppy, you can almost catch them by hand.

But if water levels continue to stay low, the breeding grounds for small fry will be all dried up and that will be the end of their spawning for the season. 

What caused the water to fall so much is the drain from the St Clair river and lake that was dug out by the U.S. army and which just pours out fresh water into the St. Lawrence and out to sea.  It wasn't until the Georgian Bay Cottager's Association hired their own engineering firm to investigate that the truth finally came out.  Compounded by dry summers, little snowfall and later winter season starts the historical levels are giving dire warnings. 

What can be done to minimize damage to fishing stock renewals is monitoring marsh levels on both sides of the lake and agreements between Canada and the U.S. to work together on the environmental health of our shared fresh water. 

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