From The Times
October 3, 2007
*
Drought: Great Lakes are becoming shallower*

MICHIGAN Drought and mild temperatures have pushed Lake Superior’s water
level to its lowest point on record for this time of year, continuing a
downward spiral across the Great Lakes.

The average water level of Superior in September dipped 1.6 inches
beneath the previous low for that month reached in 1926. The lake has
dipped beneath its long-term average level for a decade – the longest
such period in its known history. Shippers, who haul iron ore and coal
across the lakes, have been unable to fill cargo holds to capacity for
fear of scraping the bottom in shallow channels.