Managing the Great Lakes shoreline hazard

Excerpt

FEW problems have attracted more attention among shoreline residents and goverments in Ontario and Great Lakes States over the past two years than high lake levels and storms. The almost constant threat of millions of dollars in property damage from a recurrence of storms, such as those in April and December 1985, has kept residents on edge and politicians and bureaucrats scrambling to respond to public pressure for action.

Present near-record-high water levels in most of the Great Lakes are the focus of concern. Much controversy and confusion exists over the problem and effective responses to it, which obscures some important features of the Great Lakes flood and shoreline erosion hazard. Earlier high water episodes provide interesting background for the present problem and even point toward a more effective long-term response.

The shoreline hazard

In the absence of human use of the Great Lakes, fluctuating lake levels and the processes of flooding and erosion would be of little concern. But people do use the lakes and shore for a diversity of essential and nonessential purposes. Consequently, lake levels and associated processes have implications for navigation, power generation, industry, housing, recreation, and other uses.

Fluctuations in lake levels …