Communications

D/Lt Bertrand Latulippe N
Communications Officer

International Joint Commission (IJC)

by Admin. Officer D/Lt/C Greg Stienstra SN

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September 5ht update

The International St. Lawrence River Board of Control will be holding a public teleconference on September 19, 2006 7-8:30 PM. You can participate by calling in between 6:45 and 7PM at 1-866-200-5980 on September 19. They will also be holding local meetings in Cornwall Ontario, and Oswego NY.

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The International Joint Commission (IJC) has extended the period for public comment on the report of its International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Study Board until September 15, 2006.

The LOSL (Lake Ontario St. Lawrence water level study), has issued their final recommendations. The public, all boaters, and especially CPS members should make themselves aware of the issues. There are a number of groups that and are actively supporting their interests on the issue of water levels.

Of particular interest to local boaters are the following:

  1. Report of the recreational boating and tourism technical work group summary, pages 37-45 in report annex 2 (this is a separate download from the main report),
  2. Graphs predicting water levels starting on page 47 of the main report.

I also urge you to take advantage of the public comment period and file comments. This may be the last time any of us will be able inflence water level regulation policies.

The final report, and appendices are available for downloading on the LOSL Website : http://www.losl.org/reports/finalreport-e.html

Comments by letter, fax or email must be received by September 15, 2006 at the this address:

Canadian Section Secretary
International Joint Commission
234 Laurier Avenue West, 22nd Floor Ottawa, ON K1P 6K6
Tel: 613-995-0088 Fax: 613-993-5583
commission@ottawa.ijc.org

 

September 14th update

Comments from D/Lt Greg Stienstra SN,
Administrative Officer Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons,
St. Lawrence District

 

To Whom it May Concern.

We would like to advise the board of our comments on the LOSL final report as a member of the recreational boating community in the vicinity of Lake St. Louis.

Many of the recreational boating facilities on the shores of Lake St. Louis are in shallow waters. In recent years there have been recurring difficulties with vessels becoming stuck in their moorings or in the channels in and out of harbours.

The final LOSL report released on May 31, 2006, shows predicted water level scenarios for Lake St. Louis for the three proposed plans (A+, B+, D+), as well as the current plan (1958-DD), on page 51. Of particular concern are the predictions for drought conditions (the 99% probability of excedence curves). In this situation the graphs predict Lake St. Louis water levels in most of July, all of August, and a significant part of September that are lower under all three proposed plans compared to the current plan.

It is important to note that these levels fall well below the "minimum low water level" designated by the recreational boating and tourism technical work group. In a shallow body of water like Lake St. Louis, a small reduction in water levels can result in a large decrease in the percentage of the lake that is usable. This is in addition to the restrictions on activities due to low water levels in the moorings and channels at marinas and yacht clubs. The ISLRBC should take this into consideration.

The ISLRBC cooperates with the recreational boating community so that when water levels are very low at haul out time (typically the second weekend in October), water levels will be raised to the minimum levels necessary for this activity. This cooperation is much appreciated by the boating community and we urge the ISLRBC to continue this practice when levels are low in the future.

The LOSL study board has on several occasions made statements to the effect that it can only work within the narrow mandate given it. But the study is only one of the many elements involved in water level regulation. The time will come when the duties of day to day water level control are being conducted with whatever new plan is selected. At that time, we will have to consider the larger context, where operational decisions will have to be made in the real world.

Given that the LOSL study was undertaken as part of a mandate to modernize and improve the way that levels are managed, the ISLRBC will be taking an increasing responsibility in controlling the water levels in the system. It is commendable that the LOSL mandate considered the interest of a wider range of subjects and communities when doing its study. The money spent on the LOSL study gave us the Shared vision model, which incorporates analyses of the impact of water regulation on diverse communities. This consideration of all affected communities should be continued when the activities of day to day regulation are carried out, and not quietly set aside.

Powerful analytical and communications tools and technologies available to the ISLRBC, with much progress since they first started operating. Therefore, the ISLRBC should also widen their process of ongoing operational deliberation to include all the groups affected by water level issues.

The LOSL study has supplied the ISLRBC with much greater knowledge of the issues involved. The shared vision model is a powerful electronic modeling tool. As good as this tool is, the ISLRBC must maintain open communication with all the users of the system and share information with them.

Given that there are additional elements that the regulatory authority must now incorporate into its activities of water level regulation, the board should consider the following points.

1) The ISLRBC should provide regular information updates to all concerned parties. This should include the measurements, and analyses gathered through their information systems, as well as the decisions and actions taken to control the water levels.

2) There should be opportunities for the public to participate in the operational decision making process. Above all, there should be complete transparency and all data and decisions should be made readily accessible form to the public, in plain language.

3) Given that the LOSL has developed an analytical tool with modern computer technology (The Shared Vision Model), it would be highly beneficial that this tool be incorporated and maintained as part of the day to day operation of the system. One benefit of doing this would be to make the predictions for water levels available to all interested parties via the internet and other appropriate means, so that they can better plan their activities with knowledge of anticipated water levels. As a hypothetical example, should the decision be made that in a given year there will be an attempt to maintain outflow levels, then the public should be made aware of this so they can plan their activities appropriately.

4) The operating authority should provide assistance and share their expertise and knowledge with the users of the system, who may need to perform costly activities such as breakwater construction and repair, or channel dredging in order to cope with the effects of the changing water levels.

5) The ISLRBC should permit participation of the public in their process of selection of the new water regulation plan.

6) The ISLRBC should provide sufficient public information and convene a series of meetings to allow the public to be fully informed on how the new plan will be implemented prior to the actual activation of the plan. Sincerely D/Lt Greg Stienstra, SN Administrative Officer Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons, St. Lawrence District

 

Sincerely

D/Lt Greg Stienstra SN
Administrative Officer
Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons,
St. Lawrence District