News Photo by Julie Riddle Accompanied by daughters Georgia Streeter, center, and Darla Wilmot, Brenda Frazer, 81, of Alpena, points out roots uncovered by high water levels at Mich-e-ke-wis Park in Alpena on Friday. A retired soil scientist for the state of Michigan, Frazer said she is concerned about the damage done by recent high water levels, both as a scientist and as a resident of Alpena.

ALPENA — Lake Huron is significantly lower than last year.

Then again, that’s not saying much — not after two years of record-setting high water levels that reconfigured Northeast Michigan shorelines and damaged yards and structures, officials say.

Following usual seasonal patterns, the water level of Lake Michigan-Huron has dropped significantly in recent weeks and now sits at least 10 inches below last year’s mid-March level.

That’s still more than two feet above average, though, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Boguth.

A slight rise in water levels is expected in spring as the snowpack in the Upper Peninsula and Ontario melts, followed by another expected decrease as some water evaporates in the summer sun.

This year’s water levels should remain below the record-setting high water of 2019 and 2020 — but don’t expect a quick return to normal, Boguth said.

The Upper Peninsula snowpack, which feeds the Great Lakes, was 100 inches below average in some places this winter, according to Boguth.

Alpena has logged 51.7 inches of snow this season — a figure that sounds substantial, Boguth said, until compared to the normal 73.8 inches-worth of flakes that usually fall by this time.

By the end of an average winter, Alpena’s snowfall totals 84.3 inches. There’s no chance of reaching that this year, Boguth said.

“Unless we see some drastic change in the weather pattern, I don’t think we’re even going to get close to normal,” Boguth said.

The wettest five-year period in 120 years in the Great Lakes basin resulted in flooding of inland lakes and record-setting volumes of water in rivers last year, according to a webinar presented by Andrew Dixon, service hydrologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In 2020, some Michigan rivers held two years’ worth of water, according to Dixon.

Dry conditions since summer 2020 haven’t brought water levels back down to normal in rivers feeding into the Great Lakes, lending to current high lake levels, Dixon reported.

Some Northeast Michigan lakeside residents have felt the effects of the lake’s high levels as “each wave takes a couple tablespoons of soil,” according to Don Gilmet, Alpena County commissioner and interim building official for Alpena Township.

County homeowners in the Lake Huron floodplain have tried installing stone walls to keep from losing their yards to the lake during the past few years, Gilmet said.

The recent drop in the lake’s water level should bring some relief to homeowners and give the city time to clean up the lake’s mess, according to Alpena Harbormaster Shannon Smolinski.

As weather warms up, city spring cleanup projects will improve public areas at Bay View Park, Starlite Beach, and other popular city destinations.

Alpena’s Blair Street pier, damaged by high water and waves, will take longer to fix, Smolinski said.

The pier’s damage is much more extensive than can be seen from shore, said Smolinski, who examined the structure with a contractor on Friday morning. Roughly two-thirds of the pier needs to be replaced, she said.

Lumber prices skyrocketed during 2020, and treated lumber — required for outdoor projects — is especially expensive, adding a financial hurdle to completing the Blair Street project. The pier may not see repairs this year, Smolinski said. The city is gathering information about options for completing the project.