Lake levels dominate meeting

The IJC requires both the IRLBC and the International Rainy River Water Pollution Board to hold the joint public forum. It is an opportunity for the board to present updates water levels, basin, flowage and pollution issues and hear feedback from the community.

The board reported on basin issues regarding hydropower developments, environmental monitoring and lake level data collection for the next rule curve reassessment in 2015. Members are also looking into nutrient levels and invasive species.

The IRLBC consists of four members, with equal representation from Canada and the United States, and with one member from each country being a local resident. The Canadians, Rick Walden, co-chair, Glenn Witherspoon and Rick Cousins are joined by their American counterparts, Leland Grim of the Falls, Edward Eaton, advisor, U.S. Section secretary Charles Lawson and Mark Colosimo, advisor. Col. Jon L. Christensen, co-chair, was not present.

Canadian IRRWPS member Melanie Neilson provided a brief history of the changing priorities that led to updates on the original single rule curves for minimum lake outflows. The subsequent amended orders in 1957, 1970 and again in 2000, reflected consolidation of prior orders and led to a modified water level band with upper and lower rule curves for Rainy and Namakan lakes.

The IRLBC monitors and sometimes directs inflow/outflow regulation of Namakan and Rainy lakes. Daily regulation is carried out jointly by Boise Inc. and Abitibi-Bowater in accordance with IJC operating rules. It also conduct regular studies and special ones following extreme high or low event years.

Randy Pozniak, John Carlson and Arden Barnes were present from the Border Lakes Association. The lake residents expressed concern that the 2001 curve update does not allow the paper mills enough flexibility to preempt maximum limits by aiming toward the top or the bottom of the curve at extreme high or low water events.

The companies target the middle portion of the band and keep the IRLBC informed of activities. The IRLBC monitors hydrologic conditions and offers instructions when necessary to target elsewhere in the bands in extreme conditions.

Some people suggested targeting the bottom of curve for high water months in spring. Aiming to the middle of the curve, they felt contributes to the lack of control of spike periods. They said they were concerned that the Namakan basin is significantly higher since the 2000 rule curve,

Area residents said that in more than 40 years on Rainy and Namakan lakes, they have never seen such high and low water years as since the 2000 rule curves were established. They said the flooding and drought in recent years has caused severe erosion of shoreline, destroyed docks, bird nesting and fish spawn. Others said the floating trees and debris in the lakes and river created a hazard to navigation and swimming.

Rick Cousins IRLBC Canadian board member, said he sympathized with property owners but emphasized that a significant high water event was responsible for the damage and not management of the curve levels.

Cousins reported that inflow to Rainy Lake from May through July 2008 averaged 31,220 feet per second, as compared to the 30-year median of 16,670 fps for the same three-month period. He said this was the third highest inflow in the 97 years it has been recorded.

The extreme high and low water levels since the 2000 rule curve, following a relatively stable decade, gives the appearance that the rule curve is responsible, he added. He called it a hydrology issue related to basin inflow upstream. Unseasonably cool weather prevented evaporation of high precipitation and that the curve swing was impacted, he noted.

Last fall, the low precipitation was followed by an abrupt rise to the 95 percentile. After an average winter snow pack, relatively low inflows gave the appearance of an early peak level which was followed by successive late snows and heavy rainfall that again raised inflows to the 95 percentile.

What some residents don’t always realize, Cousins said, is that until the Rainy Lake level passed the 1109.1 elevation mark, the pressure is at the Rainier and Pither’s Point bottleneck and that the dam gates must be opened progressively to prevent cavitations and forebays. The gates are also opened and closed in coordination with operation of the seven Boise hydro wheels and eight at Abitibi.

With questions about acting too soon or too late at the dams, the board replied that they act on the information made available by level indicators and data from the Army Corps of Engineers. In hindsight there are always periods to second guess, but they added that the difference would have been in inches and would not have prevented the high water levels.

“This is about hydrology and purely the variability of inflows and not from the rule curve itself,” Cousins added.

Data records of lake levels, inflow and outflow charts have been maintained since 1915 and can be found online at http://lakes.bc.com. The board says that before manmade controls were installed, the data show similar lack of control in high and low precipitation years before the 1949 rule curve.

Todd Sellers, director, Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation, www.lowwsf.com, was present to request that the board consider adopting their concerns down river as an international issue that can not be resolved without bi national effort. The IJC, he added, is already in a position to coordinate this lake in its basin-wide issue.

For the past four years the foundation has monitored lake drinking water, lake trout habitat and advocated on behalf of surrounding communities and resort owners.

“For the past 42 years the Rainy River has benefited from pollution monitoring by the IJC, and Lake of the Woods deserves no less,” said Sellers.