Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
Lake Superior and Lake Michigan-Huron water levels are near their seasonal low point and depending on weather and water supply conditions could begin their seasonal spring rise over the coming weeks. Lake Superior water levels remain below the seasonal long-term average while Lake Michigan-Huron water levels remain above the seasonal long-term average. Lake Superior outflows continue to be set in consideration of water levels upstream and downstream.
Joint Canada-U.S. regulators of Lake Ontario water levels say they are monitoring ice-cover conditions to ensure proper outflows from the Moses Saunders Dam into the St. Lawrence River. Outflows from Lake Ontario are higher than usual for this time of the year, said regulators. International Lake Ontario – St. Lawrence River Board said, “although flows have been reduced, the outflows remain relatively high compared to the historical record. The average Lake Ontario outflow for January 2022 is currently the fourth highest on record since 1900 (following 2020, 2021, and 1987), and the January mean Lake Ontario level is the 15th highest on record since 1918.”
Unusually high levels of rainfall in the autumn led to the third wettest fall on record which created higher levels in Lake Ontario water levels, said joint U.S.-Canada regulators governing water levels. The International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board said in a statement, “Lake Ontario is currently 34 cm (13.4 inches) above the long-term average (1918-2020) and 34 cm (13.4 inches) below the record high set in 1945 for this time of the year. “In terms of total water supply to Lake Ontario, September through November 2021 was the third wettest fall on record. As a result, Lake Ontario experienced the third largest rise in water levels in October. The lake rose 8 cm (3.1 inches) as opposed to decreasing an average of 11 cm (4.3 inches) typically experienced that time of year.”
Parks Canada raised the water levels on the Tay River and Christie Lake in part to maintain water levels on the Rideau Canal. “Parks Canada did perform operational work to increase the outflow from Bobs Lake dam,” wrote Aarin Crawford, a public relations and communications officer with Parks Canada’s Rideau Canal Ontario Waterways section in Smiths Falls, in an email exchange with The Perth Courier five days following the initial request. “The outflow increases were conducted to compensate for evaporation demands in the navigation section (of the) Rideau Canal.”
