GRAND RAPIDS, MI —Downtown Grand Rapids visitors have witnessed a dramatic transformation of the Grand River as drought conditions have pushed water levels to critically low points not seen in nearly a century.
The river currently sits at just 0.79 feet above its pre-set zero mark, a stark contrast to the 18-foot flood stage. Water levels have dropped so dramatically that new islands have emerged in the downtown area, creating an unusually altered landscape for residents and visitors.
The Latest Drought Data: Drought conditions in Michigan last week worsened for some, improved for others; Take a look
Aerial footage reveals the extent of the drought’s impact, with the river bottom and vegetation is visible in several areas below the surface near the Blue Bridge. Some sections of riverbed along the banks have become completely dry.
The Grand River at Lansing recorded a flow of just 69.1 cubic feet per second on September 17, approaching the all-time low of 60 cubic feet per second set in 1999, according to United States Geological Survey data spanning 99 years.
The lack of rainfall across Michigan this summer has resulted in the severe drought conditions now visible in the state’s river systems. While scattered heavy rains last week provided temporary relief, water levels are expected to drop again as drought conditions persist. New drought data will be available on Thursday.
The extremely low levels have created challenges for monitoring systems. The Grand River’s current conditions are so severe that monitoring graphs cannot display most flood stage markers, with only the lower end of the flood stage visible.
An informative graph below looks at the Grand River flow at Lansing. The black line is the flow over the past week. The flow now is right at the lowest ever recorded for September 29 signified by the darker tan area.
MLive Meteorologist Mark Torregrossa wrote about an “invisible force” causing the Great Lakes water levels to go down. It’s clear to see from the maps and graph above that the water flowing into the Great Lakes from Michigan’s rivers and streams is at a low volume now…