Members of a group affiliated with the International Joint Commission are taking a proactive move to curtail potential flooding next year along the major waterways in Northern New York.
The International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board, which reports to the IJC, announced it will increase outflows from the Robert Moses-Robert H. Saunders Power Dam near Massena. While water levels on Lake Ontario have remained at their seasonal long-term average, they have been higher from Lake Erie and the upper Great Lakes. This water will eventually flow into Lake Ontario, raising its average level over time.
This could lead to flooding along the shores of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, such as what occurred in 2017 and 2019. So with the approval of the IJC, the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board will lower the water level by increasing outflows beginning Jan. 1.
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The International Joint Commission will do something lakeside residents have been asking about for years.
The IJC says it will deviate from Plan 2014, which will allow for increased outflows from Lake Ontario via the St. Lawrence River.
“The risk of high water on Lake Ontario in 2021 is moderate due to persistent high-water levels on Lake Erie and the upper Great Lakes. This will cause inflows to Lake Ontario from Lake Erie to remain high over the coming winter months. The main driver of a high-water event in the Lake Ontario basin will depend on seasonal factors such as precipitation and snowpack runoff,” the IJC wrote in a statement after the decision.
Author of the article: Postmedia Staff
Publishing date: Dec 14, 2020 • December 14, 2020 • 2 minute read •
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Following several years of Quinte area waterfront owners calling for more water to released downstream from Lake Ontario to prevent spring flooding, the International Joint Commission (IJC) – the body governing lake water levels – said it will approve higher water flows.
The approval gives the International Lake Ontario- St. Lawrence River Board permission it needs to bring in a strategy to deviate from Plan 2014 this winter to stave off flooding in early 2021.
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The Maple Cross Shoreline Reserve on the Eastern Lake Ontario Coast. (Photo: NCC)
Precipitation has been below average in 2020, but if you look at Lake Ontario and the Bay of Quinte this winter, you may not know it.
The International Joint Commission has approved a request to allow more water out of Lake Ontario than prescribed by
The Plan is under the direction of the International Lake Ontario St. Lawrence River Board, and affects water levels thoughout the Quinte region, and those who live on Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River, and the rivers that flow into those bodies of water.