A couple of news items from around the lake
http://www.newyorkupstate.com/weath...vious_lessons_learned_from_2017_flooding.html
Lake Ontario water level update: 'No obvious lessons' learned from 2017 flooding
Posted January 18, 2018 at 02:59 PM | Updated January 18, 2018 at 03:14 PM
By David Figura l
dfigura@NYup.com
Lake Ontario’s water level is currently about 9 inches higher than the lake’s level last year at this time.
International Joint Commission officials who control the lake’s level year-round aren’t worried, despite flooding problems caused by high water levels during much of 2017 on the lake and the St. Lawrence River. They point to previous years when the lake was at this level during January with no dire consequences. They said the primary concern during the winter months, as it has been for decades, is managing ice formation on the St. Lawrence River.
As ice on the river forms, they said, the river needs “a stable ice cover” to prevent ice jams that could cause flooding along the river and water intake problems at the Moses-Saunders Dam on the river at Massena, N.Y. Water releases from the dam are the primary tool that the IJC uses to control Lake Ontario’s level.
“There continues to be a large amount of water in the lake system and that’s a concern,” according to Frank Bevacqua, spokesman for the International Joint Commission. As a result, there continues to be “extremely high” water outflows on the Upper St. Lawrence River at the Moses-Saunders Dam.
Bevacqua said there is currently an assessment underway by the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence River Adaptive Management Committee of the IJC of how Plan 2014 performed in 2017, with an eye toward the long-term operation of the plan.
“But the preliminary view is that there are no obvious lessons of things that need to be done differently,” he said.
Darren McGee
Last year was the first year that lake levels were managed by Plan 2014, which some officials, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo, blamed for last year’s flooding on the lake. IJC officials said that wasn't true.
In the above photo taken in late May, Gov. Cuomo visited the flooded Lake Ontario shoreline in Greece, N.Y. At that time, he directed State Parks to implement 5MPH speed limit for recreational vessels operating within 600 ft. of shore. He also announced $7 Million in state finding to assist homeowners impacted by flooding along Lake Ontario and the St Lawrence river and signed legislation to amend the Clean Waters Infrastructure Act of 2017 to expedite access to emergency financial assistance to municipalities across the state, including those effected by the flooding along the shores of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River.
Keith Koralewski from the Buffalo office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is the U.S. regulation representative alternate to the IJC board and provides all the reports to the U.S./Canadian board from the American perspective.
He said the fact the lake’s water level is 9 inches higher now than last year is not significant, noting that overall 2016 was a drought year in the Lake Ontario and much of the Great Lakes watershed. He added that the lake’s level leading into the spring of 2017 was kept overall a little higher than an average year during the winter months because of the management of ice formation on the river, made difficult by nearly a half dozen, and unprecedented freezing/thawing stretches of weather – a phenomenon that was unusual.
Dennis Nett |
dnett@syracuse.com
The bottom line, he said, is that it wasn’t the river’s management of lack of action during the winter of 2017, or water releases that ultimately had an impact on the lake’s high water level last year. It was the record amount of rainfall, coupled with the snowmelt in the Lake Ontario watershed, during last year’s late winter and early spring. The wet trend continued into the summer, keeping the lake high.
Making matters difficult last year concerning water releases at the dam, Koralewski said, was the flooding of Montreal downstream from the dam, which was doubly impacted by the high water levels of the Ottawa River, which merges with the St. Lawrence River at the Canadian City. At one point, thousands had to be evacuated from a section of the city. The water release levels at the dam were determined with an eye on minimizing the effect on Montreal.
There was a third factor to consider. The IJC is charged with keeping the St. Lawrence Seaway open for shipping. Releasing water from the dam at too high a level also makes the river unmanageable for shipping, which has a huge economic impact on the greater Lake Ontario area and beyond.
Lake facts
COMPARATIVE LAKE FACTS:
Lake level:
Jan. 17, 2017 – 74.63 meters
Jan. 17, 2018 – 74.86 meters
(A difference of 23 centimeters or 9 inches)
Water releases at the Moses-Saunders Dam
The water releases at the Moses Saunders Dam is currently higher, compared to last year at this time.
Koralewski said: “This is a little more difficult to answer as it can be quite variable this time of year depending on if ice is forming or not. The board is restricted to the I-limit when ice is forming, a J-limit to prevent week to week flows from increasing or decreasing too rapidly (which can destabilize ice) and the computerized flow, which is the maximum flow allowed by Plan 2014 if the I or J limits or other limits within the plan do not apply.
“The coming week (Jan. 20-26), the average flow should be 7,890 cubic meters per second (cms), which was set by the J-limit (again the limit which restricts flow from increasing too quickly from week to week. Last year during this week, the flow was set at 7,050 cms for the week.”
More on NYup.com
Lake Erie lake effect snow machine slowing, but Lake Ontario 'open for business'
In the above graphic, Lake Erie is nearly covered in ice (shown in gray), while Lake Ontario remains largely ice-free. Ice diminishes the amount of lake effect snow a lake can generate.
https://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2018/01/17/2017-flooding-has-cost-city-845-million.html
2017 flooding has cost city $8.45 million
City staff recommend 2017 rent and fees be forgiven for island businesses as a result of lengthy closures.
Toronto Island businesses experienced varying degrees of loss during last year's historic flooding. (Sammy Hudes / Toronto Star file photo)
By Jennifer PagliaroCity Hall Bureau
Wed., Jan. 17, 2018
City staff say the flooding in 2017 that shut down Toronto Island Park for three months and devastated waterfront areas has cost the city’s parks, forestry and recreation division at least $8.45 million.
In a new report to the executive committee, staff recommend up to 100 per cent of the base licence fee or rent for tenants on the island be forgiven.
“While impacts have been seen across the whole of the City of Toronto’s waterfront, the flood disproportionally affected Toronto Island Park, resulting in the closure of the park until the end of July,” the staff report reads. “Water levels still remain above historic averages, the impact of which through the winter season is still unknown.”
An additional $7.38 million will also be required for short-term repairs and other mitigation, staff say, of which only $2 million is available in the 2018 budget. Long-term damage, compounded by freezing, is not yet known and will be considered in the 2019 budget, the report says.
Lake Ontario reached the highest-ever recorded level in May of last year at 75.93 metres above sea level, closing the island during a typically busy season, causing 70 landslides along the Scarborough Bluffs and creating other lasting damage.
Article Continued Below
The revenue losses from the ferry alone cost $6.34 million in 2017.
A dozen island businesses, including the Royal Canadian Yacht Club and Toronto Island Bicycle Rental, experienced varying degrees of loss, city staff say. They have not yet been charged for 2017 fees.
Any tenants or licensees who can demonstrate through financial statements that they have incurred a reduction in net income due to the closure of the Toronto Island Park and are current with their rent, fees and other financial obligations up to 2017 should qualify for up to 100 per cent abatement of 2017 fees, the staff report says.
That decision will ultimately be up to council, which meets starting Jan. 31.
In the future, staff say they are working with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and the newly hired chief resilience officer to assess long-term repairs and mitigation in the event of forthcoming severe weather. That work includes a Toronto Island Park flood plan, expected later this year.
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