Members of the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board Wendy Leger, Rob Caldwell and Jacob Bruxer make a presentation to Brighton Council, at the King Edward Park Community Centre, on November 6, 2017. (Photo: Amanda Smith / Quinte News)
Brighton councillors have been given a better idea of how water levels on Lake Ontario are controlled and how the body that regulates those levels handled this summer’s high water event.
Representatives from the International Lake Ontario-St.Lawrence River Board gave a rundown of the board’s structure and procedures on Monday night and said dramatic water level changes are based on weather, which can be hard to predict.
As far as controlling those water levels, Canadian Regulations’ representative Rob Caldwell tells Quinte News, even lowering the Lake Ontario level by one centimetre can cause issues further down the waterway.
Councillor John Martinello was behind the idea to have board members make their presentation and tells Quinte News his questions weren’t fully answered.
Canadian co-chair of the board’s adaptive management committee Wendy Leger says the board is continuing to monitor conditions and is trying to learn more about water level patterns and impacts, but that climate change and other factors continue to make it harder to predict those patterns in the future.
