High water levels puzzle officials
Rising Lake Ontario and harbour can present benefits and problems alike for local wildlife
Waterfront watchers say they’re mystified by high water levels in Lake Ontario and Hamilton Harbour when there hasn’t been a lot of rain and spring run-off has been minimal.
Tys Theysmeyer, head of natural lands at the Royal Botanical Gardens, said levels are a “full foot and then some over the levels they’ve been over the last five years.”
“It’s quite something this year. I’ve been trying to figure out what is going on. We started three feet lower three months ago.
“The water hasn’t been this high since the spring of 1994.”
The Hamilton Police Service Marine Unit tweeted over the weekend “... water levels in #HamOnt Harbour are highest our members have seen in at least 7 years.”
Fortunately, though, there does not appear to be many reports of flood damage. “Right now, we don’t have any issues with high water levels on the lake and harbour,” said Scott Peck, director of watershed planning and engineering with the Hamilton Conservation Authority.
Werner Plessl, the executive director of the Hamilton Waterfront Trust said, “I haven’t seen anything that would affect our operations ... it looks like the waters might be going down a bit.”
Coun. Chad Collins, who represents residents on the Beach Strip, said flooding on residential properties has been minimal on the beach because of control measures that were put in place years ago.
Theysmeyer said from a naturalist’s point of view “the high water cuts both ways. On the upside, for fish and frogs there is a lot of flooded territory and they are a happy campers.”
However, he said, water levels are close to going over top of the fish way in the Desjardins Canal under Highway 403. The structure is designed to keep carp from swimming into Cootes Paradise from the bay.
If it becomes flooded, the destructive fish will simply swim over the top. Theysmeyer says that’s happened twice in the past and is possible, but unlikely this year.
The International Joint Commission says water levels throughout the Great Lakes are expected to remain above average through the spring and summer. But they are expected to be far lower than record levels experienced in the 1980s.