Great Lakes Water Quality & Levels

Water quality and the water levels in the Great Lakes has been a concern to many in cottage country for some time. Georgian Bay water levels were falling at a significant rate for a number or years, however in the last two years we have seen an unprecedented rise in the water levels. The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between Canada and the United States has led to a coordinated effort between the two countries and information is readily available for us to track the information being shared. Below is some information about the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) and Weekly Great Lakes Water Level information shared through the US Army Corps of Engineers.

The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement with the United States:

The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) is an agreement between Canada and the United States, first signed in 1972.  It contributes to the quality of life of millions of Canadians by identifying shared priorities and coordinating actions to restore and protect the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the waters of the Great Lakes.

In amending the agreement in 2012, the Governments of Canada and the United States have committed to a shared vision of a healthy and prosperous Great Lakes region in which the waters of the Great Lakes, through their sound management, use, and enjoyment, provide benefits to present and future generations. To this end, Canada and the United States recognize the importance of taking action, resolving existing environmental issues and anticipating and preventing future problems.

Through the GLWQA, Canada and the United States, in consultation and cooperation with other levels of government, First Nations and Métis organizations, businesses, non-governmental entities, and the public will develop programs, technologies and other measures necessary to better understand the Great Lakes ecosystem, and to restore and protect water quality and ecosystem health.

Source:
Environment Canada
https://www.ec.gc.ca/grandslacs-greatlakes/default.asp?lang=En&n=45B79BF9-1 Retrieved January 10, 2015

Weekly Great Lakes Water Levels:

The Great Lakes basin experienced normal temperatures last weekend. During the early part of the work week temperatures plunged across the area  as a blast of arctic air moved in with daytime highs as low as 25 degrees below normal. Temperatures are predicted to continue to be frigid through Saturday, and then climb towards normal by the middle of next week.
Above average snowfall is expected across much of the basin in the coming week with the heaviest amounts falling on the eastern shores of the Great Lakes. Lakes Michigan-Huron is 22 inches above their levels of a year ago. Lakes Michigan-Huron are predicted to fall 1 inch over the next 30 days. Lake Michigan-Huron’s outflow into the St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair’s outflow into the Detroit River are projected to be above average in January.

Source:
US Army Corps of Engineers
http://www.lre.usace.army.mil/Missions/GreatLakesInformation/GreatLakesWaterLevels/WaterLevelForecast/WeeklyGreatLakesWaterLevels.aspx
Retrieved January 9, 2015

Great Lakes Water Level Set to Hit 15 Year High

This spring, cottagers along the Great Lakes who have been anxious about disappearing shorelines are in for the highest water levels in 15-years, thanks to two unusually wet years.

Last month, Lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan, and Erie were above their average monthly levels for the first time since the late 1990s, when the levels began decreasing. Experts believe that the dredging of the links between lakes to accommodate shipping and increased evaporation from climate change could have caused the low levels.

“On Superior, Michigan, and Huron, we haven’t seen two-year water level increases of this magnitude” in recorded history, said Keith Kompoltowicz, a hydrologist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers district office in Detroit, in an interview with the CBC.

Kompoltowicz says the high water levels are partly due to heavy rain and the abundance of snow that accumulated over the lake and their watersheds. Last winter’s ice coverage, which covered over 90 percent of the lakes total surface area, could have also slowed down winter evaporation. (Thank you, Polar Vortex!)

This six-month forecast is a sharp contrast to just two years ago, when Lakes Michigan and Huron levels were the lowest since the government first began keeping records in 1818. Lake Ontario was the only Great Lake that maintained average water levels because of hydropower dams that control the flow.

Although scientists believe these levels will be maintained for the next six months, they cannot make predictions beyond that.

“When we have a warming climate system, the bottom line is that it yields greater year-to-year variability,” said Jim Noel of the NOAA Ohio River weather forecasting centre to the CBC.

The Great Lakes contain 20 percent of the world’s freshwater supply and provides drinking water to approximately 40 million households. The Great Lakes are also home to more than 3,500 species of plants and animals.

And the impact of the low water levels reaches beyond the ecosystem. A study published last June by the Mowat Centre, a public policy think tank based in Ontario, and conducted by the Council of the Great Lakes Region, found that the long-term effects of low water levels could mean a loss of $18.82 billion USD by 2050.

According to the report, commercial shipping, waterfront property values, recreational boating, the fishing economy and hydroelectric generation are the most vulnerable to low water levels.

And while the Polar Vortex may have helped water levels, it’s certainly not a long-term solution to rely on.

“This unusual set of winter conditions will only break temporarily the long-term climate-warming trend affecting Great Lakes levels and water qualities,” said Jim Bruce, a former senior official with Environment Canada, in a statement for the International Joint Commission.

Source:

Written By Samantha Edwards

http://cottagelife.com/97695/blogs/great-lakes-water-levels-set-to-hit-15-year-high

Retrieved: January 9, 2015

Our Story: The Phillips Team

Karen Phillips, MA
Executive Assistant
705-795-6303
karen@thephillilpsteam.ca

Gary Phillips, Realtor
705-795-7239
gary@thephillipsteam.ca

The Phillips Team, Cottage Real Estate

"We understand and respect the fact that cottages are where we build many of our dearest and heartfelt memories!"

As young professionals, Gary & Karen understood the benefits to owning a cottage and enjoying a cottage lifestyle. They chose to purchase a cottage property for themselves, their children and their extended family and friends. Gary & Karen purchased a century lodge and spent a number of years restoring a building that was arguably a “tear down,” but also held generations of memories for local cottagers and residents in their neighbourhood. After four years of renovations, the Woods Bay Lodge renovation was completed and continues to stand as it has for over 100 years as a historical icon in the community. Today, Gary and Karen continue to share this special place and the cottage lifestyle with their grown children and grand-children. 

Karen & Gary care deeply about their community and are committed to community development and building initiatives. One of The Phillips’ Team’s favourite contributions to their community is the Woods Bay Lodge Summer Concert Series (https://www.facebook.com/woodsbaylodge?ref=hl). Community members are invited to participate in a night of gourmet food and live music with their neighbours, friends and new friends a the Phillips’ beloved Woods Bay Lodge. To date, the Woods Bay Summer Concert Series has enjoyed the talent of Jason McCoy of Road Hammers Fame (http://www.theroadhammers.com), Tom Wilson of Blackie & the Rodeo Kings (http://blackieandtherodeokings.com/south/), Scarlett Jane http://www.scarlettjane.com), Dre Flack and the Kitchen Party Band (http://freemandreandthekitchenparty.com),and Coco Love Alcorn (http://cocolovealcorn.com). And, Karen & Gary are not only passionate about real estate, they genuinely love people, great food, wine and music! 

Karen & Gary genuinely understand that cottages are where families and friends build many of their dearest and most heartfelt memories!

Meet The Phillips Team

The Phillips Team, Cottage Real Estate

The Phillips Team are a full service cottage country real estate team that provides each client with real estate services that are tailored to meet their needs. With unique and diverse skills, Gary & Karen combine their individual expertise and experience to create a team approach that recognizes the importance of building and maintaining client relationships, possessing market knowledge,understanding technology,and accessing resources to effectively meet their client’s needs. 

Meet our Team: Karen Phillips, Executive Assistant

The Phillips Team, Cottage Real Estate

Marketing/Social Media/Researcher/Writer & Blogger
Karen is highly skilled in administration, community development and human services. She has many years experience working in brain injury rehabilitation, mental health counselling, and post-secondary education in progressively responsible positions. Continuously engaged in the pursuit of academic credentials and professional goals, Karen holds a Double Honours Undergraduate Degree in History and English, a Post Graduate Diploma in Communicative Disorders, an Advanced Degree in Health Services Administration, and a Masters Degree, Integrated Studies with a double specialization in Educational Studies and Adult Education. For years, Karen has been actively involved in real estate transactions in her private life, and coming from a family of Realtors, has a strong understanding of the real estate business. This interest contributed significantly to her decision to join Gary as his Executive Assistant in January 2014.  Her education and professional experience ideally positions her to contribute to the educational perspective of The Phillips Team as well as the ongoing administrative work required to provide exceptional service to clients buying and selling cottage country real estate. Karen provides the behind the scenes administrative support in social media, marketing, advertising and organizational planning, creating a strong platform from which Gary is able to assist his clients with attentive, informative and proactive real estate services.   Evident in her professional path, Karen truly cares about people and believes strongly in providing service with integrity and authenticity. She maintains strong relationships with her friends and family, and is very proud of their three grown children, two of whom have completed their education to go on to successful careers in real estate and business marketing, and their youngest who is completing her education in the field of nursing medicine. Karen also views her involvement in her local cottage country community as a both a pleasure and a privilege.

Meet our Team: Gary Phillips, Realtor

The Phillips Team, Cottage Real Estate

Adventurous/Social/Detail Oriented/Strong Negotiator
Bringing extensive knowledge of the unique cottage country real estate market to his position as an accomplished and respected Realtor, Gary represents discriminating buyers and sellers throughout the Parry Sound-Muskoka district. Gary offers his clients an exceptional level of service. He skillfully utilizes his many years of experience, working with Fortune 500 companies as an accomplished entrepreneur in Ontario’s manufacturing industry, with his years of experience purchasing, owning, developing and selling cottage country property. Known by clients and colleagues for his strong work ethic, tenacity, perseverance, and honesty, Gary enjoys an excellent reputation for meeting his client’s needs and expectations. Gary listens and educates his clients, provides his expertise, and respects his client’s time. Always the consummate professional, Gary recognized the importance of a team approach to serving his clients and formed “The Phillips Team” in 2013 after 5 years of full-time real estate practice. With the support of an Executive Assistant, Gary is able to respond to his client’s phone and email messages in a timely way, resulting in the continued development of his business portfolio of referrals from past and current clients. Combining his strong business background and entrepreneurial skills, years of experience as a full-time Realtor, and dedication to ongoing education in his field, Gary provides an exceptional choice for anyone ready to purchase or sell property in the Parry-Sound Muskoka real estate district. His charisma, salesmanship, and strong but fair negotiation skills, continue to contribute to Gary’s ongoing success in the real estate industry. He is passionate about his work and is genuinely invested and engaged with the clients he serves. Today, in addition to his commitment to his real estate practice, Gary is very involved with his family and their three grown children, two of whom have completed their education to go on to successful careers in real estate and business marketing, and their youngest who is completing her education in the field of nursing medicine. Gary is also a community minded individual who is committed to the efforts of community building in his local cottage country neighbourhood.

The Phillips Team

2015 Cottage Resolutions

The Phillips Team, Cottage Real Estate

Every year at the cottage is different and each New Years, we reflect back what was particularly fun, what was exciting, what we accomplished and what we didn’t at the cottage. But, we also consider what we would do differently. For us, the cottage is a very special place, that is multifaceted. It is a place where we relax, work, putter, disengage, engage, play, socialize and have lots of awesome adventures. It is also a place where we have learned a lot about ourselves, our family and our friends. Here are some of our past and present cottage resolutions:

1. Plan Guest Free Weekends: The cottage is where we work and play. So, it is an interesting balance for us to manage our social schedule with our work schedule. For us, we are often working when our friends are wanting to play and have fun. So, we tend to schedule our time (as best we can) so that we can balance both. One way we do this is to schedule weekends with friends and family and to also make sure that we have “unscheduled” weekends where we are guest free. This leaves it open for us to enjoy some quiet time, or more likely to engage with our friends in cottage country.

2. Plan Your Projects: As with all cottages, there are always projects that you want to complete whether it be to paint a bunkie, install a new bathroom, create an outdoor shower,
fix a deck or clean up the beach. We find that it is best for us to create a wish list and then
price out the projects and/or schedule the time. We prioritize the projects, research the cost of each project in terms of dollars and/or time, create a budget, and finally create a timeline for the projects we want to complete. We also talk about whether or not we will complete a project on our own, hire some help or combine the two approaches.

3. Find a New Hobby: There are some activities that we engage in faithfully at the cottage, but each year we like to think about some new ways to spend our time. We are very active and love to be outdoors, so here are some activities and hobbies that we enjoy:
i. Stand-up paddle boarding
ii. Organic box gardening – yup, we grow our own veggies for the summer
iii. Kayaking
iv. Evening boat cruises with a cup of our favourite java
v. Hiking on our local trails – we have a quest to learn the different mushroom types
vi. Snorkelling around our local islands
vii. Finding new spots to enjoy an afternoon picnic

4. Engaging With Our Cottage Community: Gary & I are quite active in our cottage community and as a result we have met some amazing new people. We thoroughly enjoy spending time with our like-minded neighbours and engaging in activities that are unique to our neighbourhood. Perhaps this year you could consider becoming more active in your community by joining your local cottage association, creating a Facebook page that is unique to your neighbourhood, starting up a travelling dinner party, or maybe even hosting a cottage concert to enjoy local musical talent (Woods Bay Lodge  https://www.facebook.com/woodsbaylodge).

5. Find Ways to Un-complicate Cottaging: Although the cottage is our favourite place on earth, it can also be a place that requires a lot of work. But, over the past few years we have considered some ways to un-complicate things so that there is more time to just enjoy the cottage.
i.   Relax your standards and “just let things be.” Yup, a little CBT is helpful here :)
ii.  Hire a local student company such as Nikki’s Cottage Care (https://www.facebook.com/nikkiscottagecaregeobay) to help you out a bit with cottage cleaning, grass cutting, beach clean up and maintenance, and weed whacking
iii. Pre-plan your meals! We love to bar-b-que a great steak and combine it with fresh veggies
from our organic garden
iv. Ask guests to bring their own linens or sleeping bags so you aren’t left with tonnes of
laundry
v. Pot luck dinners with your neighbours is a great way to enjoy time together without it
becoming a burden

We are super excited about 2015 and are totally looking forward to hearing all about your plans for the cottage, your wonderful adventures, and all of the ways in which you choose to experience cottage country. It inspires us!

The Phillips Team