2021-Nov-01
Thank You for Making the First Webinar in Our Series A Success!
Our first in the series of three Extreme Water Levels: Impacts and Strategies webinars went swimmingly! Great speakers – strong participation – many great questions. Take a look below at key takeaways we’ve assembled from the expert presentations during the first Webinar on the pressing issues surrounding changing climate related extreme weather and water level fluctuations in the Great Lakes.
Don’t miss the next webinars in the series!
In our Saturday, October 23 webinar, our accomplished speakers walked us through what’s happening and what’s new with water levels. Here are the top takeaways:
- Both precipitation and evaporation are projected to increase under various climate-change scenarios, with future lake levels depending on the balance between the rates of increases. The highs are likely to be higher and the lows lower as we move into an increasingly uncertain future.
- The Council of the Great Lakes Region (CGLR) released Action Plan 2030 in June 2019. The Action Plan addresses four major challenges facing the Great Lakes region: climate change, beaches and bacteriological contamination, nutrients and algal blooms, and toxics and harmful pollutants.
- The CGLR is seeking to leverage federal commitments regarding a strengthened Freshwater Action Plan and the creation of a Canada Water Agency to advance the priorities laid out in their Action Plan 2030, including recommendations made to address the aforementioned four major challenges.
- Changes to Climate drivers – including temperature (air and water), wind speed, and precipitation – operate at different scales, both basin-wide and local. Future projections predict ‘warmer, wetter, wilder’ conditions. Lake impacts include ice (cover and phenology) and algae growth. Bluegreen algae blooms like it hot, so extreme weather events favour blooms.
- Additional lake impacts can be seen in wetlands, flora and fauna. While wetlands in Georgian Bay evolved within the long-term water level regime of 6.33 feet of water level fluctuations, more sewage discharges (among other factors) will increasingly tax the ability of our coastal wetlands to keep our water clean. Many plant and animal species will be unable to adapt to the effects of even an intermediate impact scenario for the future climate. Taxonomic groups depending most on water (e.g., molluscs, fishes, amphibians and lichens) will be the most vulnerable. Additional impacts can be seen in fish (e.g., less ice cover meaning lower viability) and birds (e.g., botulism bacteria being passed through the food chain from algae to invasive mussels to round goby to birds).
We learned that while there is hope, we can not afford to be complacent. We are IN a climate crisis. Greenhouse gas emissions have changed the chemistry of the atmosphere and have already contributed to changes to Georgian Bay that can’t be reversed. We must not only take individual action, but also urgently support pulling together across all levels of society and government to work simultaneously to dramatically truncate greenhouse gas emissions. This will work to deliver some future stability in the environment. At the same time, we must also work on individual adaption actions and policies for the current changing conditions. Accordingly, the next two Webinars in the GBF/GBA series will focus on what you can do to adapt to extremes in weather and water levels.
If you missed the first webinar, or want to revisit it, a video recording of the presentations can be found here and the slide deck can be found here.
Don’t miss the next Webinars in the series!
Shorelines, Docks & Shoreline Structures
Sat. Nov. 13, 10 am to 12 pm
- Naturalizing Shorelines: What to do – and not do. What erosion impacts can you expect and avoid?
- Land/Water Interface: What to do about shoreline structures. How should they be (re)configured? What are the impacts/regulations?
- Storms, waves, and wakes. What can you expect from more frequent and intense storms? What can be done to reduce harmful boat wakes
Better Understanding Your Septic System, Property Insurance and How Water Fluctuations Impact the Bay’s Businesses and You
Sat. Dec. 4, 10 am to 12 pm
- How vulnerable is your septic system? What are your options?
- Potential impacts on potable water in high and low water events
- What are the potential impacts on property insurance?
- What are the impacts of extreme high and low water levels on municipal infrastructure, shoreline businesses, and other services?