The International Lake Ontario – St. Lawrence River Board has been hearing from concerned property owners, business owners, and recreational users regarding the current below average water levels throughout the system and will host several bi-national virtual public meetings to discuss the current conditions. The meetings are open to any interested parties and are scheduled for June 15 and June 17 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
The month of May has been drier than average in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River watershed. Based on data from the GLERL Hydromet database and US Army Corps of Engineers data, the most recent 12 months over Lake Ontario have been the driest since 1966. The Canadian and United States drought monitor maps show abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions within the basin: https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/temp-and-precip/drought/nadm/maps. As a result, the water level in Lake Ontario only rose 0.8 inch in the month of May as compared to the average rise of 3.6 inches.
Due to water levels decreasing below the low threshold that applies at this time of year, the board has implemented deviations from plan-prescribed “Rule Curve” flows meant to “provide all possible relief to municipal water intakes, navigation and power purposes, upstream and downstream.” Outflows were decreased on May 29 and again on June 5. The board will continue to monitor conditions and the effects of the deviation strategy closely while simultaneously tracking weather forecasts and drought conditions. The deviations are expected to decrease the risk of excessive low water levels caused by dry summer conditions. However, outflow management cannot eliminate the risk of extreme water levels from occurring during periods of severe weather and water supply conditions.
During the planned public meetings, the board will present some information on the dry weather conditions and then respond to questions from attendees. The meetings will be hosted online using the Zoom platform with questions submitted using the chat function. Questions can be typed in English or French. If either of these events conclude before addressing all submitted questions, then responses will be published on the board’s website following the meetings. These events will also be recorded and posted on the board’s website.
Interested individuals must register for the event; in the event these meetings reach capacity, additional meetings will be scheduled. Register for the June 15 meeting at https://bit.ly/3ppMwyS or the June 17 meeting at https://bit.ly/2TDjy2E. Simultaneous translation services will be available in French and English.
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