International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board

Mild temperatures and minimal ice cover in the St. Lawrence River made it possible to release record amounts of water from Lake Ontario during January and continuing into February, but inflows to Lake Ontario also set records last month.

Following the closure of the Seaway, and some partial and temporary ice formation in early January, mild temperatures across the Lake Ontario basin have allowed the International Lake Ontario - St.

Outflows will be increased substantially in the coming days as efforts to remove water from Lake Ontario continue.

Cold weather has caused ice formation to start at critical areas on the St. Lawrence River, requiring Lake Ontario outflows to be temporarily reduced in order to reduce the risk of ice jams. 

The International Lake Ontario – St. Lawrence River Board (Board) announced today that, in directing Lake Ontario outflows, it has been given the ability to continue deviating from the flow specified by Plan 2014.

Water levels on Lake Ontario have begun to decline more rapidly in recent days due to a combination of continued record-high outflows, declining inflows from Lake Erie and generally drier weather across the basin.