Eutrophication is Beginning in Lake Michigan

Abstract

Through vigorous efforts of the press, thousands of people living in the Lake Michigan watershed are acquiring an awareness of the term "eutrophication." They are learning, also, that it relates in some manner to water pollution and water quality problems in the lake. Many scientific studies of Lake Michigan have been carried out over the years by a number of agencies representing states and communities fronting on the lake. The resulting observations cover a historical period dating back to before the turn of the century, but the data improve in completeness only in recent times. Among recent Lake Michigan studies are those of the Great Lakes Research Division of the University of Michigan. The Center for Great Lakes Studies of the University of Wisconsin, and the studies of the Great Lakes Region of the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration. An appraisal of eutrophication in Lake Michigan has been made in connection with the FWPCA studies. The results of all the studies mentioned above are substantially in agreement, and they collectively make up the story of what has been happening to Lake Michigan in recent times.