E-M:/ EVEN MORE on Great Lake NON-Trivia

["Alex J. Sagady & Associates" <ajs@sagady.com>]

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Enviro-Mich message from "Alex J. Sagady & Associates" <ajs@sagady.com>
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Renewable vs. non-renewable Great Lakes water.....


From: "Bevacqua, Frank" <bevacquaf@washington.ijc.org>
To: "'Poulsondav@aol.com'" <Poulsondav@aol.com>, glin-announce@great-lakes.net
Subject: RE: GLIN==> water volume
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2000 11:34:09 -0500
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Dave,

While the volume of the Great Lakes would cover North America in about
3.5 feet of water, it should also be emphasized that less than one percent
of this water is renewable on an annual basis (the rest a legacy from the
last ice age).

Taking the average outflow from Lake Ontario as a measure, the amount of
renewable water from the Great Lakes would cover the North American
continent by 1.03 centimetres, or .40 inches, over the course of a year.
While this is still an enormous amount of water, it is much less than the
total volume. The amount of renewable water is probably a better measure of
what needs to be managed and protected.
The calculation follows below.

Frank

Renewable portion of GL Water

Average outflow from Lake Ontario (1900-1998): 6950 m+3/second

365.25 days x 24 hrs x 60 mins x 60 secs = 3.1558 x 10+7 secs/year

6950 m+3/second x 3.1558 x 10+7 seconds/year = 2.1933 x 10+11 m+3/year

2.1933 x 10+11 m+3/year / 109 m+3/km+3 = 2.1933 x 10+2 km+3/year

Area of North America = 21,307,000 km+2

2.1933 x 102 km+3/year / 2.1307 x 107 km+2 = 1.0293 x 10-5 km

1.0293 x 10-5 km = 1.03 cm or .40 inches of water


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Alex J. Sagady & Associates        Email:  ajs@sagady.com

Environmental Enforcement, Permits/Technical Review, Public Policy and
Communications on Air, Water and Waste Issues
and Community Environmental Protection

PO Box 39  East Lansing, MI  48826-0039
(517) 332-6971 (voice); (517) 332-8987 (fax)
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