Gord Brown Demands Action On Water Levels

September 13, 2007

Brockville – Gord Brown, Member of Parliament for Leeds-Grenville seeks action on rapidly falling water levels on Lake Ontario and the Upper St. Lawrence River.

In a letter to Herb Gray, the Canadian Chair of the International Joint Commission, he demands that the Lake Ontario – St. Lawrence River Board of Control do whatever it can to salvage what is left of the water in the system for the remainder of this boating, cottage, hunting and fishing season.

As well, he asks the Chair to ensure that the Board’s new plan, expected this fall, take into account the lessons learned from this year.

“It has been shown repeatedly that when you manage for the average level, which the Board does, that average lowers over time,” Brown explains.

“The results of this year will dramatically lower the average and it is impossible to imagine a situation where water would be high enough to compensate and bring the average back up, even over a large number of years.

“The Board’s plan simply won’t allow it to ever get high enough to compensate.”

The issues that have occurred this year have been forecast by advocates who want to see the plan changed.

The cause of this year’s problem is the Lake Ontario - St. Lawrence River Board of Control’s approach to water management – always seeking to lower water to reach the average level.

Since the early 1990’s when water levels began to be a serious concern on the Upper St. Lawrence, residents, vacationers and businesses that rely on the river for their livelihood, have advocated a change from this system.

“Advocates for a plan change have constantly forecast the situation we see ourselves in today,” notes Brown.

When the Board of Control dumps water from Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River in order to reach the low average level, it can not recover that water. If we do not get rain or flow from Lake Erie, the water continues to drop.