Great Lakes Now

Construction will soon begin on project to keep invasive carp out of Great Lakes | Great Lakes Now

0 min read

Construction will soon begin on project to keep invasive carp out of Great Lakes

By Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio

This article was republished here with permission from Wisconsin Public Radio.

Efforts to build a barrier to keep invasive carp out of the Great Lakes are one step closer to reality.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Wednesday that it awarded the first construction contract on the $1.15 billion project at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam on the Des Plaines River in Joliet, Illinois.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Great Lakes Now

Points North: The Iceman Giveth, The Iceman Taketh

17 min read

Points North: The Iceman Giveth, The Iceman Taketh

By Ellie Katz

Points North is a biweekly podcast about the land, water and inhabitants of the Great Lakes.

This episode was shared here with permission from Interlochen Public Radio. 

Every November, mountain bikers flock to the woods of northern Michigan for the Iceman Cometh Challenge, a 30-mile mountain bike race that starts at a small town airport, cuts through steep forested hills, and ends at a campground.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Great Lakes Now Ontario

Spotlight on complexity of bottled water issues, as BlueTriton exits Ontario

5 min read

Spotlight on complexity of bottled water issues, as BlueTriton exits Ontario

Activist group, Water Watchers, had reason to celebrate last month when water bottler BlueTriton announced it will cease operations in Puslinch, Ontario in January, 2025. The group’s website beamed “We Won” and said the exit was a “historic win for water justice.”

To get a better understanding of the issues surrounding bottled water in Ontario, Canada, Great Lakes Now contacted Arlene Slocombe, executive director of Water Watchers and McMaster University Professor, Dawn Martin-Hill and founder of the Indigenous Studies Program at McMaster University. 

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Great Lakes Now

Energy News Roundup: Bad news for rooftop solar customers

3 min read

Energy News Roundup: Bad news for rooftop solar customers

Customers who paid Sun Badger Solar for installations that never came won’t get a refund — at least for now. The Wisconsin-based company’s limited remaining assets will instead be used to cover a fraction of its employees’ unpaid wages. The Wisconsin Department of Workforce development expects to receive about $126,000 to go toward employee compensation.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Great Lakes Now

The hidden rivers fueling urban floods

1 min read

The hidden rivers fueling urban floods

Flooding can destroy property and have serious effects on human health. And it can follow patterns of housing discrimination from almost a century ago. Ghost streams are waterways that were filled in or covered up during city development, and they’re a contributing factor to flooding events.

Many ghost streams are underneath historically redlined neighborhoods.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.