Correction: Corrected September 17, 2026: the water-level paragraph was withdrawn because this imported legacy edition does not retain its underlying gauge snapshot. Its numerical readings and navigation implications are unverified. NOAA measurement context.
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Chris Izworski, reporting from Bay City for the Great Lakes Gazette, notes that the navigation season is stirring to life this weekend with mixed conditions across the basin. The tanker Prime, a former saltwater vessel now operating domestically, is due at Ludington to load calcium chloride at OxyChem for distribution to ports including Goderich, Oshawa, Bath, and Trois Rivières, marking her first venture into Great Lakes trading for the next six months. Meanwhile, in Duluth, the tug Meredith Ashton and her 240-foot deck barge completed the first discharge of project cargo at the newly opened Berth 10 on the Clure Terminal Expansion, a milestone for that infrastructure investment completed last March.
The original water-level paragraph has been withdrawn. This legacy edition was imported from a WordPress draft without the underlying gauge snapshot, so its numerical readings and navigation implications cannot be verified from the archived source data.
One complication: the seasonal carferry Kristen D out of Cheboygan faces a potential late start due to high water and snowmelt straining the Cheboygan River watershed. Federal and state officials closed boating access below the Cheboygan Lock and Dam on Sunday as a precaution. This confluence of intense rain on snow has overwhelmed aging dam infrastructure across Michigan and Wisconsin, a pattern researchers warn will intensify in a warming climate.