Huron rises. Superior falls

NEWS RELEASE

INTERNATIONAL LAKE SUPERIOR BOARD OF CONTROL

************************* Update on Lake Superior Outflow The International Lake Superior Board of Control, under authority granted to it by the International Joint Commission, has set the Lake Superior outflow to 1,590 cubic metres per second (m3/s) (56.2 thousand cubic feet per second (tcfs)) for the month of April.

This is the outflow recommended by the regulation plan for the month of April and is a decrease from the March outflow, which was 1,620 m3/s (57.2 tcfs). The April outflow will be released by discharging about 1,482 m3/s (52.3 tcfs) through the three hydropower plants and passing most of the remaining flow through the control structure at the head of the St. Marys rapids.

The gate setting of the control structure will be maintained at the existing setting equivalent to one-half gate open (four gates open 20 cm, or about eight inches each). There will be no change to the setting of Gate #1 that supplies the Fishery Remedial Works. This past month the water supply to the lakes Superior and Michigan-Huron basins were below the long-term average for March.

Lake Superior is currently 24 cm (9 inches) below its chart datum level.

The level of Lake Superior is expected to rise slightly in April.

Currently, the Lake Superior level is about 28 cm (11 inches) below its long-term average beginning-of-April level, but is 16 cm (6 inches) above the level recorded a year ago.

This past month the level of Lake Superior fell 3 cm (1 inch), while on average the level falls by 1 cm (0.4 inches) in March.

The level of Lakes Michigan-Huron rose by 3 cm (1 inch) this March, while on average the level falls by 1 cm (0.4 inches) in March.

The level of Lakes Michigan-Huron is now about 54 cm (20 inches) below its long-term average beginning-of-April level, and is 17 cm (7 inches) lower than it was a year ago, and 20 cm (8 inches) below chart datum.

The level of Lakes Michigan-Huron is also expected to rise in April.

The board continues to monitor conditions both on Lake Superior and downstream and will advise the International Joint Commission accordingly on those conditions. Brigadier General Bruce A. Berwick, commander, Great Lakes and Ohio River Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is the United States board member.

Mr. David Fay is the board member for Canada. Additional information can be found by clicking here or here. *************************