(AP) -- A panel studying whether too much water is escaping from Lake Huron is delaying a scheduled report until Dec. 1.

The International Upper Great Lakes Study announced the new date Wednesday. It previously had planned to issue its latest findings Oct. 1. But the panel says is needs time for more research and to receive independent peer reviews of the science on which its conclusions are based.

The group released a preliminary report last May. It found that billions of gallons of excess water flowed from Lake Huron through the St. Clair River to Lake Erie in the 1980s because of an ice jam. But it disagreed with a Canadian group that believes dredging has caused erosion that continues to reduce water levels in Lakes Huron and Michigan.

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