If you’ve spent any time on our Great Lakes you’ve no doubt seen one of the largest vessels on ANY body of water: the North American “Laker”, more commonly known as a “freighter.” These giant ships transport cargo across our Great Lakes navigation system from Duluth Minnesota to Ogdensburg, New York- almost 1,600 miles! Given the Great Lakes small footprint compared to the vast oceans our planet has, it’s easy to wonder why any shipping gets done on our fresh water at all, but with 63 commercial ports and almost 200 million tons of cargo moved annually on the lakes, it’s actually a very busy means of shipping.
The Great Lakes shipping season begins in late March and ends in January. During the short off-season, crews take an extended leave and see their families and friends while maintenance is done to the lakers. The ice that freezes over the lakes in those early months makes the lakes impassable which gives a welcome respite from the long days on the water. When the water is open, however, the vessels are usually moving cargo of natural resources including coal, ore, limestone, iron, grain or salt but may also carry things like cement or car parts. Some lakers are over 1,000 feet long to carry HUGE amounts of cargo. While it may seem silly to have such giant vessels on a chain of lakes, these larger lakers are actually much more efficient than smaller vessels. One modern 1,000 laker carries as much cargo as three 600 foot lakers can, all while using less fuel and fewer crew members.
Speaking of efficiency, one modern laker can unload its cargo completely in 6 hours, often with only one person at the controls. The modern vessels also offer extreme fuel efficiency. With 1 gallon of fuel, a laker can move one ton of cargo 607 miles. The next most efficient transportation method is a freight train that can move 1 ton of freight a paltry 492 miles with 1 gallon of fuel. Not too bad considering they have an average open water speed of 15 MPH.
A longer-term cost savings comes from the ships themselves. The majority of fresh water cargo ships never see salt water from the oceans which means less deterioration of metal components on the vessels. This means their 40-50 serviceable life is double that of their salt-water, “salties” counterparts. Another point for the Great Lakes! However, what’s stopping freshwater lakers from going into the Atlantic and vice-versa? The St. Lawrence Seaway.
The St. Lawrence Seaway is a series of locks, canals, and channels that permits ocean-going vessels to enter the Great Lakes and freshwater-going vessels to enter the Atlantic. The seaway uses locks which are only 80 feet wide, meaning that the width (or beam) of a ship passing through them can’t exceed 78 feet. Cutting it close! Because of this narrow width most ocean-going ships can’t make it through. However, our lakers can make it to the atlantic, but usually don’t venture too far as their narrow beam and the larger waves of the ocean make it perilous.
If you want to dive in even deeper, check out the Know Your Boats publication which can be had here: http://www.knowyourships.com/
The publication covers essential data and statistics of hundreds of freights, tugs, barges, and other vessels on our Great Lakes and even offers a chart of each flag and stack for the freighters you may catch while you’re on the water!
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Preserving the Great Lakes helps the economy, and there’s still plenty of work to be done
Preservation and restoration of the Great Lakes has this incredible ripple effect on a community.
And a team of economists have the data to back it up.
In September, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) published a study that showed every federal dollar spent on projects by the nonprofit group nets $3.35 in additional economic activity through the year 2036.
Additionally, the study, led by a University of Michigan research team, found that every GLRI project dollar spent generates an extra $1.62 for tourism. Residents who live on or near the lakes realize an additional $1.08 in general quality of life improvements.
From 2010 to 2017, Congress has appropriated about $2.5 billion in Great Lakes restoration projects, which means more than $8.3 billion has been realized in extra economic activity.
That’s a lot of money going toward a lot of projects — more than 402,000 pounds of phosphorus have been prevented from running into the lakes and more than 180,000 acres of fish and wildlife habitat have been protected.
But there’s still plenty more to be done. Here are three big issues facing the Great Lakes today:
PFAS
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance — known as PFAS — has contaminated dozens of water systems across Michigan and the Great Lakes and has triggered the government to declare states of emergencies in two Michigan communities. Scientists have described PFAS as the “most insidious pollutant since PCBs,” according to MLive reports.
Exposure to PFAS can increase risk for cancer and other serious issues.
After initially ignoring a federal report warning of the contamination, a Michigan PFAS team has been assembled to deal with the issue.
Rising water temperatures
Since 1980, the average surface temperature of Lake Michigan has risen about 3 degrees and is expected to continue rising. Annual ice coverage of the Great Lakes decreased 71 percent between 1973 and 2010, according to the Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments.
One of the biggest issues with warmer water is invasive species. Certain invasive fish that do better in warmer water have higher metabolism, which helps them compete against native fish.
Line 5
The 60-year-old oil line runs the risk of leaking and causing extensive damage in the Great Lakes.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder in October signed an agreement to move forward with a plan to construct a tunnel that will encase part of the line. The idea is that if the line leaks, the tunnel should catch it and prevent spreading in the lakes.
Activists say the government is rolling the dice, however, arguing the tunnel will take too long to construct.
A worst case scenario developed by Michigan Technological University showed that Line 5 could spread as much as 2.4 million gallons of oil into the Great Lakes, causing $1.86 billion in damages.
So, let’s start. A few buzzwords floating around our region lately are Line 5, the Nestle debate, along with the rising water levels in Lake Huron and we will certainly get to those but this month, I want to turn our attention inland, however, still well within the Great Lakes watershed. There is a community in Michigan and specifically a couple of adventurers and Great Lakes lovers who have dreamt for years about seeing some whitewater back in their town…
“Back” would imply that were once there as would the name, Grand Rapids. Many people (myself included) never put the two together and the fact that the calm and beautiful Grand River was once a fast moving body of water with rapids and islands was a shock. It wasn’t until the early 1900s that the rapids began to disappear due to logging and other industry moving to the city. As the bottom of the river was dredged, the islands removed, and the rapids lost, the river became known as a scenic spot for paddlers and fishing. Not a terrible reputation but today, through years of dedication one of Michigan’s most beautiful cities might be getting its rapids back.
(IMAGE) An 1836 map of the city shows several large islands in the middle of the river, Michigan's longest running 232 miles from the center of the state west to Lake Michigan. But by the early 1900s, the bottom of the river had been scraped and flattened to allow for the logging industry to float timber downstream.
Chris Muller and Chip Richards wanted to see their city share a common denominator with towns like Bend, OR, Golden, CO, and Ashville, NC so they got to it and began what is today called Grand Rapids Whitewater (GRWW). Their goal, along with bringing back the rapids to Grand Rapids by adding boulders and rerouting water is to revitalizing the 2.5mile stretch of the Grand River running through downtown and make it even more of an attraction and focal point in the city.
These two men, their amazing team, the supporters, the city of Grand Rapids, and a community of water loving people are on the cusp of securing $45million in funding for the project and by 2025, the rapids are expected to be back in Grand Rapids; writing a new (old) story about our fresh water and Great Lakes watershed.
A project like this excites us as a community. When they succeed, not only will Chip and Chris give Grand Rapids an economic boost but they will have a significant part in making the Grand River even more celebrated as well. However, there are always two sides to a story and from what we can tell, GRWW is doing their due diligence and taking into account how new rapids could change a fragile eco system. For now, we celebrate those who celebrate our fresh water with us and the Great Lakes Proud Community looks forward to seeing GRWW accomplish its mission by doing things the right way and helping where we can, $1 at a time.
If you want to check out more (and I suggest you do) about, their mission, and how to get involved head to their website or dive into a few of the great articles we found! Here are a couple:
MLIVE
Written by Great Lakes Proud Community contributor and Great Lakes Expert Austin Holsinger. Reach out to him with stories or ways you celebrate the Great Lakes or freshwater at Austin@greatlakesproud.com
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