Save The River® Upper St. Lawrence Riverkeeper®

Save The River is a non-profit, member-based environmental organization whose mission is to preserve and protect the ecological integrity of the Upper St. Lawrence River through advocacy, education and research.

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Water Levels Update
From John Peach – Upper St. Lawrence Riverkeeper & Save The River Executive Director
Moses-Saunders Power Dam

The water levels situation is looking more optimistic each week. There is no doubt this will be a high water year, but there is a good chance the levels will not hit the 2017 & 19 levels. The water level in Alexandria Bay is 6″ lower today than it was last year. Save The River’s advocacy to delay the opening of the Seaway and keep outflow rates higher than normal have shown positive results!

The Seaway has responded to emails from Save The River and Thousand Islands Safe Boating Association to send a Notice to Shippers calling for wake restrictions in the US Narrows and other tight areas of the Seaway.

 

I would like to share some of the sites I visit daily to keep up to date on levels and forecasts. I think we have learned how interconnected the hydrology of the River is to so many of these factors.

Resources

IJC Forecast – as of 4/28/20 –  IJC’s International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board announces that current conditions are stabilizing and expected to improve across Lake Ontario – St. Lawrence system | International Joint Commission

Water levels at Alex Bay CG station – Water Levels – NOAA Tides & Currents

Lake Ontario Flow charts- This is a significant chart, as it shows the outflows compared to prior years. It only updates every few dates.  – Flows | International Joint Commission

Hourly updates of Lake Ontario outflows at the Moses Saunders dam, which I use to supplement the above IJC chart – https://ijc.org/en/loslrb/watershed/outflow-changes

Ottawa River Outflow charts – note how the outflow is headed lower, compared to 2019 record year. This time last year the Ottawa River outflow was over 9000 cm/s. Today it’s in the 3300 cm/s range. – Carillon | Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board

Ottawa Weather forecasts – The weather over the Ottawa River Basin is looking much better than this time last year. However, there is a strong front going through today and tomorrow. Let’s hope it does not linger… – Ottawa, Ontario 14 Day Weather Forecast – The Weather Network

Let’s continue to wish for dry conditions in the Ottawa River Basin over the next few weeks!