ALGOMA, WI (WTAQ) – Officials with the U.S. Coast Guard say that high water levels on Lake Michigan present a number of concerns.
It doesn’t take much of an expert to notice that the water is running high right now.
In fact, it doesn’t even take someone from the area.
“Well, having not been to Lake Michigan for many, many years, I’m shocked at how high this is,” says Ellen Cozart, from Dallas, Texas.
The Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project has been tracking drownings in the Great Lakes for 9 years.
The group reports that 27 people have drowned in Lake Michigan this year.
For comparison, at the same time in 2018, 15 people had drowned, which equals a jump of 80 percent this year.
Boaters using the water can best attest that weather conditions frequently and quickly change, making the area unpredictable.
“I’d think I’d be awfully careful walking on the breakwater if it was wavy out here,” says Greg Mattson, from Osceola.
Back in January, a surging surf swept a 20-foot tall beacon clean off the south pier in Manitowoc.
While in April, gale storm warnings whipped waves 12 feet in the air, pounding places like the lighthouse near Sturgeon Bay.
With that in mind, a person wouldn’t stand much of a chance in similar conditions.
“The waves may actually break over the top of these walls, and if you’re on top of the wall, with that breaking wave, it may actually push you out into the water,” says Lt. j. g. Phillip Gurtler, U.S. Coast Guard.
According to him, months of rising lake levels are mostly to blame.
“The Coast Guard does not recommend, in these kind of conditions, to be out there,” he said.
Also, there’s debris floating on the water, and in places, boaters have collided with rocks and even breakwaters.
“I think you have to always be careful on the Great Lakes,” says Mattson.
