Water levels in the Lakes Michigan-Huron basin are up from last year but remain about 9 inches below the historic average.

Keith Kompoltowicz, a meteorologist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said it's been more than a decade since water levels in the lakes were above the long-term average of 578.4 feet.

The basin averaged a level of 577.6 feet in December, a seven-inch increase from the same time a year ago, Kompoltowicz said. The wet fall and early winter helped keep the water levels up during the usual seasonal decline, he said.

Kompoltowicz said under current conditions, water levels are forecast to remain 7 to 8 inches greater than last year's levels.