Upcoming gate changes on the St. Mary's River

NEWS RELEASE

INTERNATIONAL LAKE SUPERIOR BOARD OF CONTROL

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The International Lake Superior Board of Control, under authority granted to it by the International Joint Commission (IJC), advises that the gate setting at the head of the St. Marys Rapids will be increased to the equivalent of two gates open on 25 April 2017. There is minimal ice cover remaining on either Lake Superior or the St. Marys River upstream of the control structure. As noted in the 3 April 2017 news release, the gate setting at the Compensating Works is being increased in order to achieve the Plan 2012 prescribed flow for the month of April.

The two-gate open equivalent setting will be achieved by partially opening Gates #2 to 16 to a setting of 33 centimetres (cm) each. Employing partially open gates will prevent any remaining ice from passing through the gates and reduce the risk of ice-related issues, and will also more evenly spread the flow of water across the width of the main rapids. There will be no change to the setting of Gate #1, which supplies a flow of about 15 (cubic metres per second) m3/s to the channel north of the Fishery Remedial Dike.

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