International Watersheds Initiative Projects

The International Joint Commission’s boards in watersheds along the US-Canada border carry out International Watersheds Initiative (IWI) projects to promote communication, conduct scientific studies and contribute to the resolution of watershed issues. Projects are developed by a board and reviewed by Commission staff. All projects are consistent with the board’s mandate and meet the objectives of the IWI. Learn more about the International Watersheds Initiative.

Displaying 1 - 28 of 28.

Year
2023
Project Description
The International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Board is mandated to recommend objectives for boundary waters, to select and establish alert levels, identify potential problems for boundary waters, and to report on exceedances of these and trends of water quality and aquatic ecosystem health...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2022
Project Description
Several different entities and governments, including the IJC, are responsible for the management of, and setting regulations, permits and other requirements for the waterbodies within the St. Croix River watershed. This means that for many water users, managing water conditions to meet various...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2022
Project Description
The cumulative impacts of past, present, and potential mining in the transboundary Lake of the Woods Rainy River basin has been a concern and an understudied topic for many years. The purpose of this project is to conduct an 18-month study to develop a shared, accessible, bi-national understanding...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2022
Project Description
The past, present and future impacts of mining in the Rainy-Lake of the Woods / Rainy River basin has been a topic of concern for the International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Board (IRLWWB) for many years. The concerns of the board have been raised to the International Joint Commission (IJC)...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2022
Project Description
Due to numerous factors, the sediments at Pine, Curry and Sable Islands, located within the International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed, are eroding. This erosion has reduced the size of these islands and without determining the cause(s) of erosion, these islands are at risk of further...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2022
Project Description
Fish counting at Milltown Dam has been in place since 1981 and is a method of establishing an approximate count of the anadromous fish entering the St. Croix River at the lowermost dam located in St. Stephen, NB. With the increasing numbers of fish in the last several years and potential for large...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2022
Project Description
Since 1981, fish counting at the most downstream dam on the St. Croix River has provided a reliable annual estimate of the number of anadromous fish returning to the watershed. NB Power’s Milltown Dam at St. Stephen NB has been an ideal site to measure progress of international efforts to restore...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2022
Project Description
This project is a 3-year study to better understand stressors affecting water quality in the St. Croix River watershed including nutrient concentrations and their distribution. It will also inform enhanced water quality monitoring in the basin. Overall, the project will help to: (1) rank stress in...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2021
Project Description
This project is to produce a Rainy-Lake of the Woods State of the Basin Report (SOBR) 2021 update in a binational project partnership of the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation (a not-for-profit Registered Charitable Organization), the International Multi-Agency Arrangement (a...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2021
Project Description
Fish counting at Milltown Dam has been in place since 1981 and is a method of establishing an approximate count of the anadromous fish entering the St. Croix River at the lowermost dam located in St. Stephen, NB and operated by NB Power Milltown Hydro Power Generating Station (Milltown Dam). This...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2020
Project Description
This project has 3 aspects: 2020 Fish Counts at Millltown; Map and Document Library; Youth Engagement Program.
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2020
Project Description
The project would be a 4-year study to better understand stressors affecting water quality within the St. Croix River, and to undertake enhanced water quality monitoring in the river with a particular focus on understanding nutrient concentrations and distribution in the watershed.
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2019
Project Description
The Rainy-Lake of the Woods Basin is a popular tourist destination close to several large water systems meaning there is ample passageway for aquatic invasive species (AIS) to enter. When this project was proposed, there was a lack of consistent AIS prevention efforts across jurisdictions, which...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2019
Project Description
There is currently no streamlined on-line system for the pubic or internal users to view all data collected within the St. Croix River Watershed. The USGS and Environment Canada both collect data within the watershed, however, their separate viewing systems are not identical or linked in any way...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2019
Project Description
In collaboration with state, provincial, tribal, NGO, and federal partners, the International St. Croix Watershed Board (ISCRWB) will initiate the first bi-national comprehensive effort to evaluate fish passage improvement opportunities and constraints at Woodland and Grand Falls dams on the St...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2019
Project Description
Anadromous fish have been counted at the research trap at the Milltown dam fishway since 1981. This project forms the basis for measuring the progress of current international efforts to restore sea-run alewife, blueback herring, and American shad to the St. Croix River watershed. It also plays an...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2018
Project Description
Anadromous fish have been counted at the research trap at the Milltown dam fishway since 1981. This project forms the basis for measuring the progress of current international efforts to restore sea-run alewife, blueback herring, and American shad to the St. Croix River watershed. It also plays an...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2017
Project Description
Anadromous fish have been counted at the research trap at the Milltown dam fishway since 1981. This project forms the basis for measuring the progress of current international efforts to restore sea-run alewife, blueback herring, and American shad to the St. Croix River watershed. It also plays an...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2017
Project Description
The East Grand Lake Basin in eastern Maine and southwestern New Brunswick drains an area of 132 mi2. The impoundment provides storage for hydropower operations and the maintenance of minimum streamflows on Forest City Stream for environmental compliance. Estimates of unregulated hydrology for the...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2017
Project Description
This project will develop water quality and aquatic ecosystem health Objectives and Alert Levels for the Rainy-Lake of the Woods Basin. Existing Objectives are outdated and it is not known if the Alert Level parameters are those that Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Board (the Board) would deem...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2017
Project Description
This is for the first phase of a project to use Project WET* tools to bring news and activities of the International Rainy Lake of the Woods Watershed to schools in the basin. In this phase, the Board will develop a Kindergarten to Grade 12 cross reference guide, matching Minnesota state curriculum...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2017
Project Description
The board intends to incorporate recently developed alewife population models into a user friendly, plain language tool depicting the theoretical outcomes of: i) changes in fish passage and ii) commercial harvest to alewife runs in the St. Croix River. The end-product will be a graphic web-based...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2016
Project Description
Anadromous fish have been counted at the research trap at the Milltown dam fishway since 1981. This project forms the basis for measuring the progress of current international efforts to restore sea-run alewife, blueback herring, and American shad to the St. Croix River watershed. It also plays an...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2015
Project Description
In light of a planned 3-year long gate refurbishment project at the Fort Frances dam on the Rainy River, an existing 2-D hydrodynamic model will be updated with recent measured water level data in order to simulate the conveyance losses due to gate closures during refurbishment. In addition to this...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2015
Project Description
The Sipayik Environmental Department (SED) of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point, Maine, in parallel with the yearly fish counts, conducted this multi-year study to determine the effectiveness of fish passages in the watershed in 2016 and 2017. Efficient fish passage is imperative for...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2015
Project Description
Anadromous fish have been counted at the research trap at the Milltown dam fishway since 1981. This project forms the basis for measuring the progress of current international efforts to restore sea-run alewife, blueback herring, and American shad to the St. Croix River watershed. It also plays an...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2015
Project Description
StreamStats, developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), is a Web-based Geographic Information System (GIS). It provides users with access to an assortment of analytical tools useful for water-resources planning and management, along with engineering applications. StreamStats makes the process...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2015
Project Description
In an effort to better understand the correlation between water levels and temperature and fish spawning in the Rainy Lake system, the International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Board (IRLWWB) need water level, temperature and fish data in the Seine River upstream of Rainy Lake. The data will...
Bundle name
IWI Project