WATER SUPPLY POTENTIAL OF THE LAKE SALLY SYSTEM, MARQUETTE COUNTY, MICHIGAN, 1978

By: Grannemann, N.G.

Abstract

Six lakes in the headwaters of Ely Creek form the Lake Sally system. This system is the source of water for Ishpeming and several small communities in the central part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. During years of average precipitation, more water is used from the system than is supplied to it, and the quantity of water in lake storage is depleted. Below-normal precipitation in 1976 and early 1977 accelerated depletion and produced significantly lower lake levels, casting doubt on the system's ability to meet water demands. Because precipitation and overland runoff account for 93 percent of the water supplied to the Lake Sally system, the lake levels fluctuate according to precipitation patterns and are particularly sensitive to drought.

Water supplied to the Lake Sally system when precipitation is average is estimated to be 2.57 ft3/s or 13.4 in/yr. Use of water by Ishpeming is about 3.5 ft3/s or 18.27 in/yr. When the Lake Sally system supply is insufficient, the city also obtains some water from Cedar Lake and Lake Angeline outside the Lake Sally system.

Results of a base-flow investigation in 1977 on Ely Creek, the outlet of the Lake Sally system, indicate that ground-water flow to the lake system is between 0.08 and 0.17 ft3/s.

Publication
Grannemann, N. G., 1978, Water supply potential of the Lake Sally System, Marquette County, Michigan: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-1046, 14 p.

Back to Publications List

Back to USGS, WRD Michigan Home Page

U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer: Webmaster <gs-w-milns_webmaster@usgs.gov>
Updated On: Tuesday, September 19, 2000
Privacy Statement || Disclaimer
URL: http://mi.water.usgs.gov/reports/lsabs.html