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Officials look for Lake Ontario water levels to stabilize

Jason Smith
/
WRVO News (file photo)

Officials who help regulate the level of Lake Ontario are pointing to some hopeful signs in the effort to deal with the ongoing flooding issues along the lake shore.

The level of Lake Ontario is still at a record, hovering at around 249 feet. But officials with the International Lake Ontario-Saint Lawrence River Board say that water levels have started to stabilize.

Keith Koralewski, an official with the board and with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said that less rain has helped, and with the forecast for drier, warmer weather later this week, it should help even more.

“When we see dry weather, we should see the levels taper off and start to decrease, but again, we can’t control what’s coming in to Lake Ontario, so if we do see some wet weather in the future, that will certainly have a play on levels,” Koralewski.

The board has also been able to increase the amount of water it releases from Lake Ontario, through a dam on the St. Lawrence River.

The amount of what the board can release is dependent on conditions involving the Ottawa River.

Koralewski also notes that wind is also a factor in causing some shoreline flooding, but he says that threat decreases as the lake level subsides going into the summer.

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's Director of News and Public Affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.