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  Lake St. Clair
What's New | Overview | General Resources | Programs and Projects
Tourism | Related Resources

 
What's New
EPA to begin soil sampling as part of PCB investigation
St. Clair Shores Patch (3/26)
Environmental Protection Agency personnel returned Monday to St. Clair Shores to update the community and inform residents of the next steps in the PCB investigation in the 10 Mile drain system.

Lake St. Clair dredging to ease boater travel
Grosse Pointe Patch (2/27)
Receding water levels in Lake St. Clair have led officials in the City of Grosse Pointe, Mich., to hire a company to dredge its marina to help prevent boaters from running aground.

Mayors urge action on low water in Lakes Michigan, Huron
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (2/15)
As Lakes Michigan and Huron continue to drop to uncharted low levels, the region's mayors are upping the pressure for the U.S. and Canadian governments to do something about it.

Marsh restoration brings long-missing birds, plants home again
Great Lakes Echo (2/14)
The restoration of a southeast Michigan marsh has already returned rare plants and birds to a Lake St. Clair park.

Invasive gobies staking out new territory
Great Lakes Echo (2/12)
An uninvited outsider is rapidly showing up in new freshwater territory in Wisconsin—and a recent scientific study indicates the increasing impact the small fish.

COMMENTARY: Time for action on low water in Great Lakes
Wawa-News (2/11)
Canadian MP Carol Hughes is calling for action on a century-old work order to create compensating structures that will reduce Lake Huron’s flow into the St. Clair River as one part of a solution to address low water levels.

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Overview
Located between lakes Huron and Erie, Lake St. Clair is the smallest lake in the Great Lakes system. Heart-shaped and shallow (averaging only 10 feet/3 meters deep), the lake requires periodic dredging to ensure bottom clearance for large ships. The northeastern portion of Lake St. Clair is an extensive delta system, the largest within the Great Lakes. The Michigan portion of the delta has been urbanized, while Ontario has set aside much of the wetlands as the Walpole Indian Reservation. Wetland loss from urban and recreational encroachment continues to be a problem on the U.S. side; and in Ontario, many of the wetland areas have been wiped out by agricultural drainage.

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General Resources
Bathymetry of Lake Erie and Lake Saint Clair
U.S. National Geophysical Data Center
As part of NOAA's Great Lakes Data Rescue Project, this site features images of lake depth and lakefloor topography.

Great Lakes Surface Environmental Analysis
NOAA, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL)
A map using NOAA satellite data to show recent water temperatures of the Great Lakes.

Historical Data - Lake St. Clair
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Detroit District
The Army Corps provides current and historic data on the Great Lakes, including yearly water levels from 1918, monthly storm probability, outflows and precipitation.

Lake St. Clair: Its Current State and Future Prospects (pdf)
Great Lakes Commission and U.S. EPA, GLNPO
This conference report (pdf, large file) includes an environmental overview of Lake St. Clair; background on the conference; findings and recommendations from the conference discussions; and detailed abstracts of the conference presentations.

Lake St. Clair: Watershed Profile
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Surf Your Watershed
Includes watershed indicators, places that share the watershed, maps, and current and historical water data.

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Programs
Lake St. Clair / St. Clair River Comprehensive Management Plan
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District and the Great Lakes Commission
This Congressionally-authorized plan will evaluate the causes of environmental stress to Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River; review existing management activities, determine management goals; and develop recommendations for restoration and protection measures.

Activities of the Central Great Lakes Bi-National Lake Sturgeon Group
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
Lake sturgeon are the only sturgeon species endemic to the Great Lakes basin and are the largest freshwater fish in the basin. Although populations are estimated to be about 1 percent of their former abundance, some level of self-sustainability remains in the St. Clair waterway.

Explore Our Natural World: A Biodiversity Atlas of the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Wildlife Habitat Council
The Biodiversity Atlas is an interpretive guidebook to the natural communities of the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, and Detroit River watersheds. View the document online or read more about it on the Council's project page.

Flow Modeling Study of the St. Clair - Detroit River Waterway
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Michigan District
This study will identify likely sources of water to public supply intakes and provide a basis for planning emergency responses to contaminant spills. See also: Fact sheet (pdf).

Lake Erie Committee
Great Lakes Fishery Commission
The committee considers fishery issues of common concern, develops joint programs and research projects and serves as a forum for management agencies. Includes Lake St. Clair, and the St. Clair and Detroit rivers.

St. Clair River Remedial Action Plan
Environment Canada
Primarily polluted by the shipping industry, the St. Clair River forms the uppermost portion of the corridor between lakes Huron and Erie, serving as a connecting channel from Lake Huron to Lake St.Clair.

Visualization of Drifting Buoy Deployments on St. Clair River
USGS Surface-water quality and flow Modeling Interest Group
In October 2000, drifting buoys were deployed to help investigate flow characteristics near public water intakes in 10 reaches of the St. Clair River, a connecting channel of the Great Lakes between Lake Huron and Lake St. Clair.

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Tourism
The Great Lakes Circle Tour
Ride along on the 6,500-mile Great Lakes Circle Tour: a scenic, international road system connecting the five Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River! For new visitors to the region, this online travel guide offers informational maps, road routes and estimated mileages, and links to major cities, camping and recreation areas, and natural attractions.

Lake St. Clair Charter Fishing
Michigan Charter Boat Association
Charter contacts listed by port.

St. Clair Parkway Commission
Information on recreational activities around Lake St. Clair.

The Lake St. Clair Network
This site is a one-stop, information hub for the lake community around Lake St. Clair and its adjoining waterways. You'll find navigational charts for the surrounding waterways, marine forecasts, boating services information, and several boating related forums.

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Related Resources
GLIN: Lake St. Clair Facts and Figures
GLIN: Lake St. Clair Current Conditions

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Updated: April 5, 2013
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Selected Photos: Copyright ©John and Ann Mahan
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