The 2006 water level forecast for the Great Lakes is in, and it's not good. Last year, Lake Michigan water levels were eight inches below normal. The forecast for 2006 looks even drier.

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We have seen dramatic ups and downs with the water levels throughout the years. The levels have been well below normal since the late 1990s.

Changing water levels affect everyone, from fishermen to property owners.

The average levels of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron in 2005 were well below the mean. But even more noteworthy is the forecast for 2006, which falls even further below the average.

So where is the water going?

Some of it becomes lake effect snow. The lake snow steals moisture from Lake Michigan and dumps it on your lawn. From there it melts, and while some of it finds its way back to the big lake, some of it evaporates. This process takes away from the lake, slowly but surely.

The lake effect snow evaporation only has a small-scale effect on lake levels. Lake levels fluctuate in most part due to natural ebbs and flows in weather patterns or changes in ground water levels.