Flood Safety Statement Currently in Effect for Halton
Published August 22, 2019 at 8:13 pm
The Credit Valley Conservation has issues a new safety statement for cities near Lake Ontario.
The Credit Valley Conservation has issues a new safety statement for cities near Lake Ontario.
The average water elevation across Lake Ontario for August 21 was at 75.49 metres above International Great Lakes Datum (IGLD). The new peak for Lake Ontario of 75.92 metres was last recoded on June 15. Flood damages in 2017 occurred at a threshold elevation of 75.45 metres.
Lake Erie elevations continue to set new record highs. Flows discharging from Lake Erie via the Niagara River, over The Falls, into Lake Ontario are uncontrolled. From June 13 through August 20, the discharge out of the Moses-Saunders Dam (which controls flows discharging out of Lake Ontario into the St Lawrence River) was at a record 10,400 cubic metres per second (cms). As of August 21 the discharge was reduced to 10,110 cms to maintain safe conditions for marine traffic along the St Lawrence River.
The latest forecast provided by the Lake Ontario St Lawrence River (LOSLR) Board of the IJC suggests that Lake Ontario levels will continue to decline at the current reduced discharge rate. It is projected that levels may fall below the local damage threshold of 75.45 m by August 30.