Is Lake Erie shrinking?

In the first half of 2023, Lake Erie's water levels are expected to be lower than in 2022 by anywhere from 6 inches to 14 inches, according to predictions from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers included in its December 2022 water level summary.



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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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In the first half of 2023, Lake Erie's water levels are expected to be lower than in 2022 by anywhere from 6 inches to 14 inches, according to predictions from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers included in its December 2022 water level summary.

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Here's every Great Lakes' 2023 forecast. The Army Corps of Engineers predicted Great Lakes' water levels for the first six months of 2023. Lake Erie's 2023 water levels may be up to 28 inches below record-highs but still higher than usual.

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Although small in volume, Lake Erie is a thriving, productive environment. It has survived challenges brought about by pollution, over-fishing, eutrophication, invasive species and harmful algal blooms.

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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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Opening of the Lake Erie - Niagara River Ice Boom for 2022-2023 ice season is planned to begin as early as March 2, 2023. More information can be found in the Lake Erie - Niagara River Ice Boom Opening media advisory for the 2022-2023 ice season.

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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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The average underwater visibility of Lake Superior is about 8 metres or 27 feet, making it the cleanest and clearest of the Great Lakes.

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The falls could be replaced by a series of rapids. 50,000 years from now, at the present rate of erosion, the remaining 20 miles to Lake Erie will have been undermined. There won't be a falls anymore, but there will still be a river at work.

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Answer and Explanation: Lake Erie is owned by the state of Ohio. This was a dispute that went before the Ohio Supreme Court during 2011. The Justices ruled that the state of Ohio owns the lake and shore up to the highest normal part at high tide.

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The lake was also an important strategic defense because of possible British invasion from the North. The Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River offered avenues of assault if the British controlled them, making Lake Erie a vital link in America's plans to win the war.

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While at times Lake Erie can be flat and calm, as wind blows across Lake Erie's surface, energy is transferred from the wind to the water. This energy generates currents and builds waves.

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Keeping Lake Erie alive: A four-point plan to tackle algae blooms
  1. Harnessing market forces to help farmers reduce nutrient runoff.
  2. Building water smart cities and cultivating water smart citizens.
  3. Improving scientific understanding of algal blooms and their implications.
  4. Creating a policy framework that drives action.


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Lake Erie has an astonishing 2,000-plus shipwrecks which is among the highest concentration of shipwrecks in the world. Only about 400 of Lake Erie's wrecks have ever been found. There are schooners, freighters, steamships, tugs and fishing boats among them.

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Throughout the past fifty years, Lake Erie has reached a complete ice cover (100% ice coverage) three times – in 1978, 1979, and 1996, and reached 99.8% in 1977. Annual maximum ice coverage for Lake Erie: 1973-2022. Source: GLERL, NOAA.

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Three times in the past half century Lake Erie reached 100 percent ice cover: 1978, 1979, and 1996. Conditions on the lake are not only highly variable from year to year, but also day to day.

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Lake levels and destratification Water levels in the Great Lakes fluctuate naturally, and it is more likely than not that levels will decline with a changing climate. Changes in lake levels can influence the amount of cargo that can be carried through them on ships.

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