Search


	Podcast:		Local Features by WXPR
	Episode:		As Land Falls Into Great Lakes, Workers, Regulators Scramble To Address Water Level ‘Crisis’
	Category:		Government & Organizations
	Duration:		00:04:38
	Publish Date:		2020-01-30 06:15:00
	Description:		It’s not difficult for Norm Pestka to picture what used to be here. After all, the land that’s now underwater was dry just a few months ago. “It’s been fine here for years. They lost 45 feet in one storm. The beach was out there, literally,” Pestka said, motioning to a patch of Lake Superior now submerged. Pestka is standing on private land just outside Ontonagon in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Lake Superior stretches out before him. It’s mostly open water, save for some ice, snow, and floating ice chunks near the shore. “This cabin was sitting right here, and this wall was right straight down,” Pestka said of the site. “It would have fell in [if we didn’t move it].” Pestka owns an Ontonagon-based construction company. It’s been busy working on shoreline erosion control in the area as lake levels remain at or near record highs. Recent storms have led to massive erosion and land falling into the water. “Is this trial and error?” Pestka asked rhetorically. “Yeah, because we don’t know
	Total Play:		0