Water Level Monitoring Stations

Hawk Lake Monitoring Station Installation

The installations of the new water level monitoring stations are proceeding well. Here, from Dave Ness of Parks Canada, is a description of the program, the benefits it will deliver, and an update of the rollout:

  

There are several lakes within the Trent-Severn Waterway system that will

be equipped with new/rehabilitated water level monitoring stations. The

majority of the Haliburton reservoirs will be equipped with remote

monitoring stations where feasible. Some sites within the Haliburton area

lack sufficient infrastructure to allow for communication to the site (ie.

cell phone towers or land lines). Where appropriate, stilling wells will

be affixed to the upstream face of the dams or locks to allow water level

information to be collected. In some locations monitoring sensors will

also be installed downstream of the dams to monitor levels downstream. The

majority of the lakes within the Haliburton area still rely on water level

information collected manually by staff in the field. At times this data

is collected once a week.

The benefits of these installations are extensive. The stations will

collect water level information on an hourly basis, and enhance situational

awareness and improve the water management decision making process. Once

operational, the stations will provide real-time water level information to

the water managers of the Trent-Severn Waterway to better fine tune the

allocation of water. The information collected from the sites will be

posted directly to the water levels website so that cottagers to the area

can view the status of the lake levels and adjust docks and boats

accordingly. Some of these sites will also be equipped with rainfall

monitoring equipment to measure the intensity and severity of rainfall in

the immediate area. This information is vital in mitigating flooding and

damage to public property.

To date, four monitoring stations have been installed at the following

locations: Hawk Lake, Halls Lake, Oblong Lake and Drag Lake. Seven more

stations are scheduled to be installed this fall at Canning Lake, Crystal

Lake, Farquhar Lake, Gooderham Lake, Little Glamor Lake, Loon Lake, and

Mississagua Lake. Where the sites are too remote to maneuver a crane into,

the monitoring stations will be deployed using a small barge.

Installations will not be undertaken over the winter, but are likely to

resume at the end of spring 2010. Much of the equipment needed to operate

the sites has already been acquired. Phone lines are being run to the dams

to facilitate communications. Once the stations are operational they will

be polled on a daily basis by an automated system and the water level

information can be retrieved.

Comments

[confused]

so how will this change when they remove logs, this is where the improvement is needed, because currently it seems like they are on an 100 year old schedule

[Martin Rist/Chris Riddle, CEWF Co-Chairs]

Knowing how much water is available is fundamental, but it is correct to observe that the TSW operating practices must be addressed. We are continuing to work with Parks Canada on behalf of our CEWF members to update these, including adding 'water conservation' as a key principle.