Copyrights : International St. Lawrence River Board of Control

The International St. Lawrence River Board of Control (Board) met on April 19-20 to discuss current and anticipated conditions, as well as operations since early March, and decided to modify the outflow strategy announced on April 1. The strategy that will be followed until May 14 is as follows:

1. Outflows will generally be 400 cubic metres per second (cms) (14,000 cubic feet per second (cfs)) less that those specified by Plan 1958-D;
2. Outflows will be at, or greater than, 7000 cms (247,000 cfs) as a weekly average; and,
3. The Board’s intent is to conserve the equivalent of not more than 4 cm (1.6 inches) of water on Lake Ontario relative to the Plan 1958D level for future needs.

The Board considered the following factors (among others) in its strategy considerations:

► On April 18, Lakes Michigan-Huron and Erie were 43 cm (16.9 inches) and 9 cm (3.5 inches) below average, respectively. Both lakes are expected to remain below average throughout the next 6 months.

► On April 18, Lake Ontario was at elevation 74.90 m (245.73 ft). This was 2 cm (0.8 inch) above average and 15 cm (5.9 inches) above last year. This level is also 47 cm (18.5 inches) below the upper regulation limit, and 75 cm (29.5 inches) above the lower regulation limit that applies during the navigation season.

► Lake Ontario has begun its seasonal rise. It is expected to rise to about 74.98 m (246.00 ft) in June. The June level would then be about 6 cm (2.4 inches) below average and 39 cm (15.4 inches) below the upper regulation limit. If very wet or very dry conditions prevail, June’s water level could be 75.14 m (246.52 ft) or 74.85 m (245.57 ft), respectively. The risk of exceeding the upper regulation limit is estimated to be about 2%, if the regulation plan is strictly followed. The risk of exceeding the lower regulation limit is estimated to be about 4%.

► Downstream conditions were noted: Lake St. Louis is 20 cm (7.9 inches) below average and 66 cm (26 inches) above last year; Montreal Harbour is 64 cm (25.2 inches) below average and 81 cm (31.9 inches) above last year.

The Board, in conjunction with its staff, will continue to monitor the situation and act accordingly. This information can also be found on the Board web site (see below) and will be updated as required.

The International Joint Commission was created under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 to help prevent and resolve disputes over the use of waters along the Canada-United States boundary. Its responsibilities include approving certain projects that would change water levels on the other side of the boundary, such as the international hydropower project at Massena, New York and Cornwall, Ontario. When it approves a project, the Commission’s Orders of Approval may require that flows through the project meet certain conditions to protect interests in both countries. For more information, visit the Commission’s website at www.ijc.org.

The International St. Lawrence River Board of Control was established by the International Joint Commission, mainly to ensure that outflows from Lake Ontario meet the requirements of the Commission’s Orders of Approval. For more information, visit the Board’s website at www.islrbc.org.

For Release: April 28, 2004

Contacts:

Reg Golding, Ottawa, Ontario (613) 998-1408

John Kangas, Chicago, Illinois (312) 353-4333