Great Lakes

According to the independent research and reporting collaboration Climate Central, Lake Michigan is frozen for 22 fewer days now than it was in the 1970s, and ice cover is less than what it used to be.

Indiana’s winters are warming more than many other states. According to the independent researching and reporting collaboration Climate Central, the state’s average winter temperatures have risen by more than 5 degrees since 1970.

Ice can diminish the damage of coastal erosion. And warmer water, even at depths found in the Great Lakes, pose challenges by welcoming invasive species and generating harmful algae blooms.

Lake trout long dominated the Great Lakes as a predator fish and are common in other large North American lakes. Their numbers in the Great Lakes plummeted in the last century with the invasion of sea lamprey, an eel-like parasite.

Shoreline cities and towns in the Great Lakes region will be spending heavily in coming years to fix public infrastructure damaged by recent flooding and erosion.

As of July 2, there were 32 drownings in the Great Lakes, compared to 25 as of July 4, 2020, according to data collected by the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project.

Over the next two decades, Indiana will need more than $13 billion to repair or replace aging water and wastewater infrastructure, according to the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition.

Erosion along Lake Michigan is pitting neighbor against neighbor in Indiana. While some want to build barriers to protect their property along the lake, others want to block those efforts.

As sea levels rise, the nation's Atlantic and Pacific coastlines are eroding putting homes and businesses in jeopardy. But climate change also is increasing erosion on what's called the nation's "third coast" the Great Lakes shoreline.

The number of industrial facilities reporting water pollution violations in the Midwest has spiked since 2017. A new report shows it could be due to a decline in enforcement at the Environmental Protection Agency.