YWCA CAMP CAVELL news

Lake Levels Keep Dropping!

2001     

 
1987
Compare the ends of the pier see it out in the lake!

Camp Beach grows Monthly as levels drop!

11/11/00

Not since 1965 have the lake levels been so low!  Our beach is now beyond the break wall and it continues to grow as the lake levels drop!  

Although the current levels may seem low to us, they are still not even down to the mean average for the great lakes yet!  The lake level is still above average when you compare it to historical data.  It just seems high to us because it has been above average for most of our lifetimes.

According to the US Army Corp of Engineers the lake is still dropping and we may get down below the average mean for the lake by next spring.  It has dropped a record 3.3 feet in three years.

Low precipitation, warm weather and a light snow load in the Upper Peninsula have contributed to the levels drop.

Although low water levels are creating big problems for the shipping industry, here at camp it is helping to save our buildings!  With high water in 1986 and again in 1997 camp lost over 25 feet of land in some areas as waves broke against the bottom of the cliffs during high water periods.  

One of the biggest storms to hit the Great Lakes in over 80 years in 1987 caused extensive damage to camp.  With the water levels hitting record highs and the wind blowing at just the right angle to build large waves that came down the lake to rip at the cliffs below our buildings and Grace Cottage lost 20 feet in 1987 and no longer has a front yard.  The cabin now sits six feet from the cliff edge and will be in danger in the next high water.