Gillibrand, Schumer to IJC: ‘Take all actions’ to prevent Lake Ontario flooding

March 02-- Mar. 2--New York's U.S. senators are urging the International Joint Commission to prevent a repeat of flooding that occurred in 2017 along the Lake Ontario shoreline.

In a letter to IJC U.S. section chair Lana Pollack, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand called on the commission to maximize outflows at the Moses-Saunders Dam due to rising Lake Ontario water levels.

The Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board, which was established by the IJC to implement the Plan 2014 water management strategy, reported Thursday that the lake level is now at 246.06 feet, which is slightly higher than last week's level of 246.03 feet.

As of Thursday, the lake was 14.6 inches above its average level for this time of year.

In a Facebook post, the board explained that outflows "remain very high and they continue to be gradually increased as conditions allow."

Gillibrand and Schumer are concerned that high water levels could affect communities still recovering from flooding in 2017. The floods that year led to President Donald Trump issuing a major disaster declaration for counties along the lake, including Cayuga County.

"That's why today I'm urging the IJC and the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board of Control to expediently take all actions possible to mitigate the risk of future flooding in these communities," Schumer, D-N.Y., said. "With the risk of future flooding rising, we must act now to prevent a repeat of 2017."

State officials raised the possibility of flooding last week in a letter to Gillibrand, Schumer and U.S. Rep. John Katko, who represents Cayuga, Oswego and Wayne counties along the lake. Wayne County is preparing to declare a state of emergency if water levels reach 246.5 feet.

Gillibrand and Schumer cited a provision in Plan 2014 that allows the board to act if lake levels reach a "trigger threshold." While the senators acknowledged outflows may have a limited impact due to other factors, such as high precipitation, they believe maximizing outflows at the dam could have some benefit.

"Two years ago, we saw just how devastating flooding from Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River can be to the homes, businesses and infrastructure along the lake's and river's shoreline. Communities need to be protected against this type of severe flooding," Gillibrand said. "With water levels in Lake Ontario reaching such high levels at this time of the year, we need to do everything we can to mitigate future flood risk ahead of time."

Online producer Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.

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