It Appears Lake Ontario Has Reached It's Peak Level For 2021

[Todd in NY]

It will probably get worse as the season progresses into fall, unless we have a ton of rain...

 

https://www.wrvo.org/post/lake-ontario-experiencing-driest-season-1966#stream/0

 

Here's another news article about the low water levels...

 

https://www.localsyr.com/news/lake-ontario-likely-approaching-peak-water-levels-as-drought-conditions-persist/

Edited June 29, 2021 by Todd in NY
added the 2nd news article

[fisherdude]

Went to a family graduation party yesterday seen all my relatives from rainbow Shores Sandy pond Stoney Creek Point peninsula. All said extremely low water conditions. Most dont have dock in . Minimum boats around on Lake and know other that have damage props . They believe the ijc getting even for all the grief they took when the water was to high .

Sent from my SM-A102U using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[Hobo]

X2 on the ijc


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

[Todd in NY]

My new job and other life events (none were bad or negative) kept me off Lake Ontario last year. This year I have the time and desire to fish Lake Ontario but the low water might keep me off the lake. I hope not, but time will tell.

[BlueEye]

I remember back in 2012 when late fall time time we had some really low water levels.... so low in fact you could almost walk across Braddocks Bay:

 

 

 

[Lightbringer]

4 hours ago, fisherdude said:

Went to a family graduation party yesterday seen all my relatives from rainbow Shores Sandy pond Stoney Creek Point peninsula. All said extremely low water conditions. Most dont have dock in . Minimum boats around on Lake and know other that have damage props . They believe the ijc getting even for all the grief they took when the water was to high .

Sent from my SM-A102U using Lake Ontario United mobile app
 

Water seems really low this year for sure.

 

I picked up some nicks on my prop at the fort niagara ramp (south ramp).   All sorts of debris / rocks blown out of ramp from people driving their boats onto their trailers.... (GRR).   Not major damage, but really annoying.   The north ramp has a ledge at the bottom of it folks are banging their axels on too...  One guy bent an axel there a few weeks back... so pick your poison there... or, go to olcott / wilson (what i started to do).

 

Drives me nuts to see someone with two 150 horse motors driving their 18 inch draft bass boat onto their trailer when they are too lazy to use the winch.  If you're disabled or elderly - fine, i can give you a pass, but I have seen soo many folks rev hard up onto trailer and blow all sorts of garbage into river with prop wash.... 

[Gator]

From what I recall of Plan 2014, subtitled "Protecting against extreme water levels, restoring wetlands and preparing for climate change", the idea was to have "natural" fluctuations in the water levels, with at least one year out of ten being really high and one year really low. The decisions were to be based upon the metrics laid out in the Plan (which is publicly available), but there are provisions for "Adaptive Management Strategies" that could lead to on-the-fly decision making.

 

You have to be good at math to get the details, or to calculate "rule curve parameters", but the gist of it is that Plan 2014 was supposed to lay out the ground rules. 

 

So, either the IJC isn't playing by the rules, or we've had multiple 100 year events occurring in the space of five years. Which wouldn't completely shock me, since hundred year storms seem to come around every few years too. 

 

Even so, I doubt that there's any aspect of retaliation in the decision making process. But it would sure be nice to count on more stable water levels. I get that natural fluctuations are better for the environment. But trying to restore what we've already screwed up is akin to implementing natural fluctuations in the level of your pool (this doesn't mean by peeing in it lol). It makes little sense to implement a costly strategy once irreversible damage has been done. IMH and only marginally informed O.

[chinook35]

Water seems really low this year for sure.
 
I picked up some nicks on my prop at the fort niagara ramp (south ramp).   All sorts of debris / rocks blown out of ramp from people driving their boats onto their trailers.... (GRR).   Not major damage, but really annoying.   The north ramp has a ledge at the bottom of it folks are banging their axels on too...  One guy bent an axel there a few weeks back... so pick your poison there... or, go to olcott / wilson (what i started to do).
 
Drives me nuts to see someone with two 150 horse motors driving their 18 inch draft bass boat onto their trailer when they are too lazy to use the winch.  If you're disabled or elderly - fine, i can give you a pass, but I have seen soo many folks rev hard up onto trailer and blow all sorts of garbage into river with prop wash.... 

There are many ramps where power loading is prohibited. It drives the bass crowd crazy


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

[garrymny]

Why is it so difficult to maintain reasonable water levels? How long have we had this problem? Seems like a recent problem to me, so what changed in the last ten years?...start there.

Sent from my moto z3 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[Todd in NY]

I added another news article in the first post about the low water levels.

[J.D.]

16 hours ago, BlueEye said:

I remember back in 2012 when late fall time time we had some really low water levels.... so low in fact you could almost walk across Braddocks Bay:

I remember that fall too.  The wife and I walked out almost to the channel markers..

[iceman05]

We had a family cottage in the Islands for 50 years. We sold it 2019. Although I miss it I’m glad we sold, the last 4 years it’s been “waters too low or waters to high”. Pay for water front to watch the boat sit on the trailer. Then this year waters too low. Of the 50years my grandparents recorded 2 floods, neither was i alive for, I’ll be 37 this year lol. Now my boat is wet docked 5 mins from home and gets used 10x more.


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

[steelhead'r]

Man thinks he is in control but forgets mother nature bats last

[Todd in NY]

5 hours ago, steelhead'r said:

Man thinks he is in control but forgets mother nature bats last

 

Absolutely true, Mother Nature always wins.

[whaler1]

But nature doesn’t control the water that flows in or out, man does.
Man is doing a crappy job of controlling those flows.


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

[Rich D]

Man doesn’t control what flows into Lake O, it is all Mother Nature!!! Superior and Ontario are the only 2 lakes that have outflow controls, no inflow controls.


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

[Dan M]

This is my first year slipping my new (to me) boat in Braddocks. I have to trim a very good way up or my skeg drags bottom. I don't know how some of the boats are flying through there and out the channel. Am I missing something? Any ideas when it will be time to pull out of there due to low water?

[LongLine]

I said it a few years ago when we had that long long long thread on here.  2014 is the dumbest thing to ever hit the Great Lakes.  1954D controlled the water level to within 3 ft.  They do control the Big-O level up the seaway, regardless of the upper lake levels !  "Funny" how those guys that defended 2014 have disappeared! 

 

Yes, I know they've reduced outflow however, just like a few years ago when they increased outflow too late, this time they reduced it too late.

 

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[Silver Fox]

Funny how “Mother Nature” has been around forever, but we’ve had 3 MAJOR issues the last 5 years and I shouldn’t have to explain how a bath tub works…..


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[Sweet Caroline]

Does any body know what the plan is for the rest of the Summer? Are they trying to raise lake levels? Is water still going down? I’d image we would need a ton of rain right now to have any significant impact. Holding more water back is likely the only way to try and increase levels which is still a long, slow process. I’m already sucking up mud at the marina. Any lower and I’m in trouble. 

[LongLine]

Doesn't look like it's going to get much better....

 

 

 

[whaler1]

Will drop half a foot by mid august


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

[UNREEL]

Because of the low water we’re weed choked at our marina. The worst we’ve seen this early in the year. And it’s just gonna get worse as the level drops

[Sweet Caroline]

UNREEL. Got gas at Sutters a couple weeks ago and sucked up weeds. Starboard overheated on the way out. Clean my sea cocks after every trip now. Warning to everybody else. My marina is low but at least no weeds. Terrible. 

[UNREEL]

1 hour ago, A-Lure-A said:

UNREEL. Got gas at Sutters a couple weeks ago and sucked up weeds. Starboard overheated on the way out.

A-Lure-A. At least the traffic to the gas dock at Sutter’s is helping to keep the weeds down a little. I was wondering how SouthPoint was. Hopefully doesn’t get any worse for you. The Game Club is low and weedy. Very fortunate to have an outboard. Good luck fishing