Coalition for Equitable Water Flow

TSW Water Level Management Update

FROM THE TSW:

Weather

The 5-day forecast suggests 15-30 mm of mixed precipitation, with most of the precipitation falling mainly on Thursday night into Friday morning. Air temperatures are expected to drop significantly on Friday afternoon below 0°C across the entire Trent and Severn Watersheds.

Outlook

Flows remain high after the series of recent events that amounted to over 100 mm of mixed precipitation and solid accumulation across the TSW watersheds. The current forecast indicates that water levels and outflows will continue to remain high at most locations. The fluctuations in levels vary and highly depend on the amount of snow remaining and any significant changes in temperature forecasts. 

The Trent Severn Water Management team will be actively monitoring the changing conditions. Any watershed condition updates will be released by your Conservation Authority or local Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources district.

Ice on Shorelines

The temperature variations around the freezing mark makes ice weak along the shoreline which is then easily broken and moved by windy conditions. The areas subject to the greatest impact are those facing the primary wind direction. In the event of strong wind conditions the public should be aware of possible onshore ice movement leading to shoreline damage. The current forecast winds are moderate over the next 36 hours with wind gusts as high as 55 km/hr.

Haliburton and Northern Areas

Most reservoirs have water levels above average for this time of year due to the recent warm up and rain on  snow event. The snow pack is present and is near the average for this time of year. Lake levels are monitored daily and assessed in relation to estimated runoff amounts. The flows on Gull and Burnt Rivers are above average and have peaked but are expected to remain elevated.

TSW 10-year Management Plan

Trent-Severn Waterway and Peterborough Lift Lock National Historic Sites Management Plan has been Finalized

In December 2022 the Final version of the Trent-Severn Waterway and Peterborough Lift Lock National Historic Sites Management Plan was approved by The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, and then Tabled in Parliament. The Plan is available on the Parks Canada website at: https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/on/trentsevern/info/plan/plan-2022. The plan is intended to cover the next 10 years. A PDF version of the report is available on our site - click here.

The CEWF Executive Committee is pleased to see the final plan which recognizes the significance of the reservoir area, and sets out future directions to address important issues facing the entire TSW system.

CEWF Engagement in the Plan Process

The process for the Plan development included an extensive program of public consultation beginning in 2019, and CEWF participated in all stages representing the interests of the reservoir and flow through lakes in Haliburton and northern Peterborough Counties. In 2019 a series of five stakeholder engagement workshops were held at different locations in the watershed, including one session in Haliburton. CEWF Executive Committee had representatives participate in each of the sessions.

In Spring 2022 CEWF Executive Committee was invited to participate in a Virtual Stakeholder Session with the TSW Planning Team where we were able to represent the interests of the reservoir area. In particular we emphasized the need for 'integrated water management at the watershed level'. Following this session, the CEWF Executive Committee submitted a written brief to the planning team which was subsequently endorsed by the five municipal councils of the municipalities in Haliburton and northern Peterborough Counties covering the reservoir area.

In May and June of 2022 four virtual public consultation sessions were held, and again the CEWF Executive Committee had representatives participate in each.

In addition, online consultation was available through the TSW website, and CEWF encouraged our member associations and their members to participate through written comments.

A full report on the consultation process was published by TSW in September 2022 - click here.

TSW Water management Update

Trent-Severn Waterway - Water Level Management Update – December 29, 2022

Parks Canada's water management team continues to actively monitor water levels, flows, and weather forecasts across the Trent-Severn Waterway. These factors are used to determine dam operations on a daily basis for the Trent-Severn Waterway.

Weather

The forecast for Friday and Saturday of this week suggests a low precipitation event of 25 to 35 mm combined with plus temperatures approaching 10 degrees.  The warm-up period is estimated to be approximately 7 days in length.  The warm spell is expected to be followed by more seasonal temperatures by January 5, 2023.   

Outlook

The snow on the ground is variable across the Trent and Severn River Watersheds and near seasonal values except for a significant snow accumulation in the Severn River Watersheds, which is twice its seasonal value for this time of the year. The warmer weather, in combination with the forecasted rainfall, will likely remove most of the snow in Kawartha lakes and Lower Trent watersheds. Flows in the Trent and Severn Rivers are anticipated to rise significantly, and water levels are expected to increase in all lakes and river reaches.

The Trent-Severn Water Management team will be actively monitoring the changing conditions. Any watershed condition updates will be released by your Conservation Authority. 

Haliburton and Northern Areas 

Most lakes are near or below long-term average water levels. Gull and Burnt Rivers are near average. Most Central Lakes are near long-term average water levels.

Kawartha Lakes and the Otonabee River

The Kawartha Lakes are about 10 cm below average and declining. Otonabee River flows are near average and are expected to increase as a result of increased outflows in preparation of the rainfall event. All river reaches are within their seasonal ranges.

Rice Lake and the Lower Trent

Rice Lake is below average and declining and the Lower Trent River reaches remain in the seasonal ranges. Trent River flows are above average.

Severn River

Lake Simcoe water levels are near average. Black River and Severn River flows are near average. River and lake sections on the Severn River are below average.

Reservoir Water Levels Update

Two dry months have led to lower than normal reservoir levels and river flows.

CEWF has received communications from residents asking about the current low water conditions on many lakes and river sections.

At the present time several reservoirs are below their normal levels for this time of year and connecting rivers are experiencing lower than normal flows. This is the result of a lack of precipitation over the last two months and very limited inflows to the system.

As is the normal practice TSW water management staff adjusted reservoir dams to their normal winter set log adjustments in early October with the goal of achieving minimum levels by mid October. This is intended to ensure that after the lake trout spawn levels will not decline significantly over winter which could cause the spawn to dry out or freeze.

The following table summarizes the precipitation totals for Haliburton from January to November 8. It illustrates how variable the rainfall patterns have been in 2022.  In particular we have seen a dry fall such that the watershed is dry and inflows to our lakes are very limited. Although lake levels have stabilized in response to winter log set in our dams, in several cases the level is below normal by up to 10 or 15 cms. As a result the flows to connecting rivers is also below normal.

TSW has very limited scope to adjust levels and flows because of the fisheries considerations. However they are monitoring levels and flows constantly in the hope that rainfall events will allow levels and flows to increase to normal levels. Ideally before freeze up, late fall rainfall events will allow the watershed to increase water storage resulting in more normal inflows to the system and gradual adjustment to levels and river flows.

TSW Drawdown Forecast - Oct 3/22

To view the 2-week TSW drawdown forecast covering October 1 - October 15 - click here

TSW Drawdown Forecast - Sep 25/22

To view the 2-week TSW drawdown forecast covering September 25 - October 9 - click here

TSW Drawdown Forecast - Sep 18/22

To view the 2-week TSW drawdown forecast covering September 18 - October 2 - click here

CEWF 2022 Annual Communications Meeting

Summary of CEWF 2022 Annual Communications Meeting

On Saturday September 10, 2022 the CEWF held its Annual Communications Meeting at the Highland Hills United Church in Minden.  The location chosen allowed members the option to join the meeting virtually using Zoom. The meeting was attended by representatives from member lake associations, by members of the CEWF Executive Committee, and by representatives of Parks Canada. The meeting opened with a welcome by Ted Spence, CEWF Chair; and Greetings from Liz Danielson, the Warden of Haliburton County.

The meeting agenda included administrative reports from the CEWF Executive Committee as well as a detailed discussion of water management issues with representatives of Parks Canada - click here

TSW Drawdown Forecast - Sep 12/22

To view the 2-week TSW drawdown forecast covering September 12 - September 26 - click here

TSW Drawdown Forecast - Sep 6/22

To view the 2-week TSW drawdown forecast covering September 6 - September 20 - click here