The Cook plant buoy is now back out in Lake Michigan for the year.
For several years, the Cook plant has paid for the buoy to be stationed in the lake near the facility.
Cook Chief Operations Manager Shane Lies tells us the buoy is operated by a company called Limno Tech, which has buoys stationed off several Lake Michigan communities. What does the buoy do?
“It’s about a mile off the shore, so it gives wind speed and wind direction,” Lies said. “More importantly, it gives wave height and wave direction. So any boater can log on to the Limnotech website and see what the actual lake conditions are and whether or not they can get out there and go fishing or go enjoy the lake.”
The buoy will also tell you the water temperature going all the way to the bottom of the lake, which Lies says is helpful to fishermen. He notes the buoy’s deployment this year was delayed.
“We were delayed in getting the buoy out this year and it became quite obvious just on social media how many people actually rely upon that buoy. And that’s our whole motivation for providing the sponsorship for it is because we know how important it is to the community.”
Lies says the buoy is also helpful to the Cook plant because it can warn plant operators of severe wave conditions coming in. Those big waves have been known to carry objects that can get lodged in the plant’s intakes.
You can see the buoy’s live data here. Anyone can check out its latest readings and even watch the Buoy Cam.
