St Lawrence Outflows

[LongLine]

Did some research on water outflow thru the St Lawrence. Here’s some comparative data 2011 vs 2012:

http://ijc.org/conseil_board/islrbc/en/publications.htm

(These are when changes to outflow was made. Changes are not made on the same day every year.)

During Jan-May of 2012 they allowed higher outflow than same period in 2011. Then in middle of May they reduced outflow to less than the 2011 levels.

1 cubic meter is approx 264 gal. Therefore, (approx) 8,000 m = 2.1m gal & 6500 m = 1.7m gal.

The question is whether it was reduced enough. (Obviously not, for us boaters & fishermen)

Interestingly, the level of the Great Lakes is only controlled at Lake Superior and at the St Lawrence. I.E. Flow over Niagara is not controlled. Calculated out, the flow over Niagara Falls is typically only 704K gal/sec. http://www.niagaraparks.com/media/geolo ... gures.html However, the low level of Erie has lowered this figure.

Lake Ontario “picks-up†a heck of a lot of water from precipitation, run-off, ground water, etc, which unfortunately hasn’t been much this year. If I remember correctly, precipitation this whole year has come from just a few 2 or 3 day storms with 3-4 weeks in between.

Tom B.

(LongLine)