New water level regulations criticized by groups

Newspaper article by Mark Kerr - Kingston Heritage

An updated water regulation plan for Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River has drawn a negative reaction from several individuals and groups in the area.

The International Joint Commission (IJC) is the bilateral organization that monitors environmental agreements between Canada and the U.S. It is responsible for managing the water levels and flows on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River through the dam at Cornwall-Massena.

The IJC held an information meeting at Kingston City Hall April 22 to introduce people to Plan 2007, the updated water regulation plan favoured by the IJC. The changes are meant to balance the interests of the different users of the world’s largest fresh water system.

Hub Steenbakkers, the owner of Collins Bay Marina, was one of only a few people who attended the information session, and he didn’t approve of what he saw.

"I don’t like it. In Plan 2007, most of the interests benefit. They are all positive except for recreational boating. It was the only interest showing a deficit," he said.

Steenbakkers and others at the meeting expressed their concern that Plan 2007 was chosen over Plan B+, which offered the most environmental improvement. They believe the IJC has favoured the interests of residents on the south shore of Lake Ontario, property owners near the lake who are at risk of experiencing erosion and flooding with higher water levels.

For Steenbakkers, though, lower water levels loom large as a negative impact on his business.

"With the water level down lower than it is now, what that means is that we will have to take our boats out earlier. Where we normally would have taken our boats out in October, we might have to do it in September or the end of August, who knows," he said.

Steenbakkers said the different municipalities on the U.S. side of Lake Ontario have allowed construction to occur too close to the shoreline, "basically in the flood plain." Greater water level fluctuations threaten to cause erosion along the shoreline and damage their property, a risk the IJC feels it cannot allow.

David Fay, a water resource engineer with the IJC, explained that a $20-million study was undertaken to come up with a new order and regulation plan for the water system. The researchers produced three plans: A+, B+ and C+.

The IJC liked Plan B+ but saw several problems with it. The commission asked the researchers to come up with some solutions. Fay said that with some tweaking, the researchers were able to solve the problem of flooding damages around Montreal and the infrequent lower water levels in the Port of Montreal associated with Plan B+. However, they could not resolve the coastal damage issue on Lake Ontario.

Because Plan B+ was determined not to work, researchers with IJC produced a variation on Plan D+ with more environmental improvements, but not as many as Plan B+. That modified Plan D+ has become known as Plan 2007.

"The environmental part of Plan 2007 is much better than 1958DD [the current regime] but not as good as B+, a third as much protection. Plan 2007 is a small but solid improvement over D+," Fay said.

For Jennifer Caddick, the executive director of Save the River, Plan 2007 does not go far enough to address the environmental damage caused by 50 years of the current water regulation regime.

"Our big concern with Plan 2007 is that it is nearly identical to the current plan, which has caused significant damage to the wetland areas," she said.

Caddick said that without any dams on the St. Lawrence River, the water system would experience 20 to 30 year cycles. There would be really high water levels and really lower waters levels occasionally, as well as the typical seasonal highs and lows. In this case, plants would germinate and there would be different chain reactions in the wetlands.

Over the last 50 years with the current regime, according to Caddick, the peaks and valleys of the water levels have been cut off, which has reduced the vitality of the wetlands, creating what is called a "cattail monoculture."

"Plan B+ keeps water levels a bit higher in the fall and winter, and bit lower during the peak season in July and August," she said.

She explained the major benefit from having the water levels higher in the fall and winter is that muskrats have improved access to wetlands. During the winter months, they need the higher water levels to build huts. As they build the huts, the animals root and dig in the wetland, disturbing the surrounding area and allowing the seeds to germinate.

The IJC seems to recognize the benefit of Plan B+. If Plan 2007 is brought in, the commission has vowed to review the plan in two years. If ways to mitigate the damage to shoreline are discovered and found to be feasible, IJC said it will switch to Plan B+.

Caddick is not sure if Plan B+ will ever be implemented.

"I am really worried. Over the past couple nights at the meetings, it appears the commission has its mind made up. They say eventually they will go to Plan B+ but I am skeptical. They have no firm plans, and they haven’t said what they need to see for mitigating factors."

After this series of information sessions, the IJC will hold actual public hearings where people can express their opinions on Plan 2007. The public hearing in Kingston is June 24 at City Hall beginning at 7 p.m. The commission said it will consider the public’s views and seek the concurrence of the two federal governments.

The commission wants to have a new order in place by the end of the year, with a new regulation plan shortly after.

"We are focusing on the information sessions and the June hearings," Caddick said. "We are kind of frustrated that we are back here after all of the earlier public hearings. We are going to make our comments to the commission and let them know we strongly support B+."

Caddick said Save the River has been actively working with government officials from Canada and the United States. U.S. Congressman John McHugh has spoken out against Plan 2007, as has Leeds Grenville MPP Bob Runciman. "We are working every angle," she said, adding that the Ontario Ministry of the Environment has expressed its support for the B+ plan.

Steenbakkers said the International Water Levels Coalition (www.iwlc.org) has been lobbying for the interests of recreational boaters. He said the coalition, which supports Plan B+, gives voice to recreational boaters through its lobbying efforts.

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