The Great Lakes that border the Midwest states are in dire need of help according to both U.S. Senators from Wisconsin.
Last week, Senators Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl were part of a delegation that urged the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to investigate the dramatic drops in water levels that the Great Lakes have experienced over the past few years.
Global climate change, extensive droughts and decreased regulation were only a few of the possible reasons for the low water level, according to the letter the delegation sent to the committee. The group asked for a hearing to be held on the issue soon to look at possible solutions.
When it comes to figuring out why the water levels in the Great Lakes are dropping so sharply, the time to act is now,"" Feingold said in a statement.
Anne Sayers, Program Director for the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters, similarly said the water levels seen are not typical for Wisconsin. Some of the lakes are at 80-year lows, according to Sayers.
""We are seeing water levels not seen since the Dust Bowl,"" Sayers said, referencing the series of droughts and dust storms that swept the United States in the 1930s.
Droughts and the decreasing amounts of ice that form on the lakes during winter cause increased evaporation, which over the long term has had a drastic effect on the amount of water present, Sayers said.
Wisconsin is affected in a variety of ways by the decreases in water level, according to Sayers. She said tourism, commercial shipping, fishing and hydroelectric power are all hurt by the damages to the lake.
""This is a critical issue for the Wisconsin economy,"" Sayers said.
Legislation on protecting the Great Lakes has had mixed success around the country. Minnesota and Illinois have both signed into law bills sustaining the lakes, while Wisconsin and Ohio have had no such bill pass either house in their state legislatures.
The Wisconsin Legislature formed a committee last year to study the issue and debate a proposed interstate agreement dealing with Great Lakes management. The agreement, called the Great Lakes Compact, deals with various water use issues across the states that border the Great Lakes.
However, Chair Neal Kedzie, R-Elkhorn, dissolved the Special Committee on Great Lakes Water Resources Compact Monday.
Kedzie said in a letter to legislative leaders that the committee was dissolved due to an inability to agree on a compromise on the proposed Great Lakes Compact.
State Sen. Robert Cowles, R-Green Bay, had recently served on the special legislative committee that had been debating the issue. Cowles said he hoped the issue of protecting the Great Lakes would enjoy bipartisan support in the future.
