Newsletter

The following article is from an archived newsletter. See our Shared Waters newsletter.

How We Got Here: The Journey to Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Regulation

IJC staff
IJC
Three Mile Bay, New York, Lake Ontario

An upcoming water levels regulation plan for the Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River will be announced on June 17 by IJC, and formally submitted to the federal governments of Canada and the U.S. In the meantime, we’d like to remind people about the careful thought, consideration and science that went into charting this course.

It’s been a long journey. The time has been spent on extensive scientific study and public engagement, concerning an Order of Approval for the Moses-Saunders dam.

The goal has been to update a plan for managing the flows of the hydropower dam at Cornwall, Ontario, and Massena, New York. That management influences water levels as far downstream as Lake St. Pierre.

The IJC has managed the flow of water at the dam since 1960, when Dwight D. Eisenhower was president and John Diefenbaker was prime minister.

Many technological advances have been made since that time (the first mobile phone call was placed about 40 years ago). But we’re still managing water levels and flows according to old criteria, set in 1956, more than 50 years ago.

Using those outdated methods has put the squeeze on Lake Ontario and the upper St. Lawrence River, degrading the environment --- especially the diversity and health of remaining coastal wetlands.

Three Mile Bay, New York, Lake Ontario. Credit: Istockphoto.com
Three Mile Bay, New York, Lake Ontario. Credit: Istockphoto.com

How did we arrive at the plan we plan to present?

We considered the results of a five-year International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Study and spent an additional eight years refining the results.

We asked people for input, and amended an earlier proposal based on that input. We received more than 5,500 comments during public hearings in 2013.

We now have more than 50 years of operational experience, and increased knowledge gained through the five-year study. There’s been additional analysis by U.S. and Canadian experts and contributions from Quebec, Ontario and New York state, along with municipal and indigenous governments, and shipping, fishing, recreational, riparian, cultural, environmental and other interests.

The Commission considered an exhaustive array of options in order to select the best possible plan. And once it’s formally transmitted to the federal governments, we will look forward to their response.

The process of plan design and review has helped improve the plan. But it also has delayed economic and environmental benefits that can be realized from a new plan.

Now, it’s time to act.

IJC staff
IJC

Subscribe to our Newsletter!

Go to subscription form