Can the Great Lakes water level be controlled?

The outflows of Lake Superior and Lake Ontario are controlled to keep the lake levels within a specific range, near their long-term averages. Levels of Lake Superior have been regulated since 1921. Levels of Lake Ontario have been regulated since 1958.



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No. People are not capable of changing things on that scale. We could easily pollute the water and make it undrinkable, but we can't drain the lakes, because there is just too much water there, and it's constantly refilled from too many sources, including rain and snow melt.

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Threats to the Great Lakes' ecosystems, include invasive species, climate change, pollution, and habitat destruction. Climate change affects water temperatures, weather patterns, and lake levels.

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In winter, the precipitation amounts decline in the colder air. A loss of water level basically comes down to more water flowing out and evaporating than falling as precipitation.

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Climatic conditions control precipitation (and thus groundwater recharge), runoff, and direct supply to the lakes as well as the rate of evaporation. These are the primary driving factors in determining water levels.

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According to the average of their simulation ensemble, by 2040–2049, the average annual water levels of Lake Superior, Michigan-Huron, and Erie are projected to increase by 0.19, 0.44, and 0.28 m, respectively, relative to 2010–2019 under the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 scenario.

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How it could work: With 20% of the available surface fresh water in the world, the Great Lakes are essentially massive reservoirs that could quench the thirst of states like Arizona and California.

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The water that replenishes the Great Lakes comes from precipitation, which is driven by the region's climate.

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The bottomlands of the Great Lakes are held in trust by the State of Michigan for use and enjoyment by its citizens.

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The net volume loss in natural lakes is largely attributable to climate warming, increasing evaporative demand, and human water consumption, whereas sedimentation dominates storage losses in reservoirs.

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Lake Michigan water levels are high and will keep rising, but nowhere near record levels.

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Lake Erie is Dead Of all of the Great Lakes, Lake Erie had become predominantly polluted by the 1960s, largely due to the heavy industrial presence along its shores.

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Lake Superior is the world's largest freshwater lake by area (31,700 mi2 /82,100 km2). It is also the coldest and deepest of the Great Lakes, with a maximum depth of 406 meters (1,332 feet). By most measures, it is the healthiest of all the Great Lakes.

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And yet, there have been some improvements over the past five decades. The water is drinkable and the amount of toxic chemicals has declined.

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Lake Erie has a lake retention time of 2.6 years, the shortest of all the Great Lakes. The lake's surface area is 9,910 square miles (25,667 km2). Lake Erie's water level fluctuates with the seasons as in the other Great Lakes.

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While it is doubtful the lake will face as drastic changes as it did during the Pleistocene Epoch, it is in fact likely that Niagara Falls will, in time, migrate up stream causing it to converge with Lake Erie waters. However by the time that takes place, the basin of Lake Erie will have lowered significantly.

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