High water levels causing damage on Lakes Superior, Michigan

MADISON — High water levels on Lake Superior and Lake Michigan have been causing trouble for some shoreline communities in recent years.

Lauren Fry is the lead water levels forecaster with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers in the Detroit District office. She estimates water levels on Lake Superior will remain about 4 inches (10 centimeters) above average over the next six months.

Wisconsin Public Radio reports that the increase in lake levels has caused beaches to erode and is threatening roads and properties near the lakefronts.

Luke Zoet is an assistant professor of geoscience with the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He says erosion makes bluffs steeper and more prone to small-or medium-scale landslides.

Zoet says the university is using instruments called extensometers to gather data on the movement of bluffs experiencing erosion.