Water levels are up since spring

Water levels on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River rose "considerably" since this spring and have surpassed the long-term average levels, according to officials.

Since April, business owners and regional tourism officials had been worried that the unusually low water would damage people's boats and that the region would lose customers this summer.

"I can tell you that the water levels on the lake and the river have risen considerably compared to May and June," said John W. Kangas, secretary of the International St. Lawrence River Board of Control. "We're currently above the long-term average and the water levels will probably stay that way for the remainder of the summer."

As of Sunday, the lake's water levels were at 246.10 feet, some 2.4 inches above the long-term average, mainly due to the unusually high precipitation in the lake basin in the past two months, Mr. Kangas said. On the river, water levels at Alexandria Bay was 245.72 feet, which is higher than this spring but still about 2.1 inches lower than a year ago.

In May and early June, water levels on the lake and river hovered between 244 feet and 245 feet — some 6 inches below the long-term average and about 16 inches lower than last year — mainly because of below-average winter precipitation.

Donald S. Badour, co-owner of Don's Prop Shop in Clayton, said the river's water levels are indeed lower than usual but that the low water did not seem to result in more boat damages and had a very minimal impact on the region's tourism so far.

"The water levels are definitely low but there are more boats on the river than last year. Boaters are dealing with the low waters just fine," he said. "There are more people on the water and also in our restaurants and on the streets this summer. I think it's the recovering economy, and the good weather also played a big role."

But Joan F. Coughlin, owner of Shangri-La Campground and Marina, Point Peninsula, believes that area businesses will eventually begin to suffer towards the end of the season because the low water will force people to pull out their boats earlier.

She said the lake's water levels rose about 6 inches since May but that the levels were still the lowest she has seen in her 28 years in the marina business.

"It's still awfully low for boaters and it's going to get even worse in the fall," Ms. Coughlin said, adding that the water levels usually start dropping rapidly in late-August.