Advocates say proposed funding cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) could bring devastating consequences to the Great Lakes.
NOAA supports the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR), which monitors water quality in real time to detect dangerous water toxins. They also take measurements to track currents, waves and ice.
CIGLR Director Greg Dick says potential cuts could eliminate those forecasts.
“Users of this information range from recreational boaters to the US Coast Guard and the Great Lakes Shipping Industry, a fleet of ships that deliver the products of ships of Midwest farms, mines and factories to markets across the world.”
Dick says on the Great Lakes, water levels have risen in one year as much as coastal sea levels are expected to rise in the next 100.
Congresswoman Debbie Dingell says the Great Lakes must be protected. She’s cosponsoring legislation to protect federal funding for the National Weather Service and Great Lakes programs.
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