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More water drained from Lake Ontario to ease flooding

Veronica Volk

Along Lake Ontario, communities are still battling flood waters.

A big dam nearby has started letting more water out of the lake and into the lower St. Lawrence River. But that doesn't mean lakefront property owners will see immediate results.
 

Jacob Bruxer of the Great Lakes-Saint Lawrence regulation Office in Canada says the changes have already gone into effect.
 
"This is a very small increase and it takes a lot of water and a lot of outflow to make a significant difference on Lake Ontario," he said.
 
Because Lake Ontario is so big -- nearly 200 miles long and 50 miles wide -- this change would take a week to reduce the lake level by about a quarter of an inch.
 
Bruxer says the goal is to continue to let more water out, and at gradually higher levels.

Downstream, flooding in parts of Quebec along the St. Lawrence River is finally subsiding, so the region is able to withstand the higher outflows.
 
Bruxer says their best hope for increasing outflows and helping residents along Lake Ontario is dryer weather.

Veronica Volk is the Great Lakes Reporter/Producer for WXXI News, exploring environmental and economic issues, water, and wildlife throughout the region for radio, television, and the web.
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