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Janet made a very in depth presentation on the role of the conservation authority in regulation and keeping people from developing in flood plains as well as warning people of flooding conditions. She provided some context with historical flooding photos as well as more recent pictures of local flooding conditions. She relayed some of the various ways that cause flooding, such as ice jamming, or frazil ice formation. She provided some context for the size of the Trent River watershed within the broader picture of the Province of Ontario and Lake Ontario. The Trent River watershed is about 12,000 square kilometers compared to Lake Ontario with 64,000 square kilometers, but even at that, about 75% to 80% of the water that goes through Lake Ontario comes from the upper Great Lakes over Niagara Falls and the Niagara River out of Lake Erie. She emphasized that the Ottawa River basin is much larger than the Trent with basically no flow controls on the Ottawa River. There are a few dams but no reservoirs to store water. The Ottawa River discharges to the St. Lawrence just up stream of Montreal. The whole great lakes are basically without controls. There is a dam at Ste. Sainte Marie and one at Cornwall only. She provided a history of attempts and plans since 1958 to regulate Lake Ontario up to the present Plan 2014 that is monitored and managed by the International Joint Commission between US and Canada. The management of Lake Ontario takes into account several factors such as: Domestic water and sewer services, Commercial navigation, Riparian rights, Hydro power and irrigation, Recreational boating, Ecosystems. She provided lots of information on historical flows and water levels related to Lake Ontario and predictive models from IJC on future water levels. If interested in Janet's presentation, it can be made available.
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