View - The Municipality of Lambton Shores

levels are forecasted to be well below average and below the 2012 high mark. This will
have a serious impact on the municipality’s efforts to maintain harbour depths in 2013,
and complaints from the boating community are expected to continue.
Presently there are several thoughts to what is causing the low levels, but there is not
full agreement on any one cause. The Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation
explains that rising and lowering lake levels is a natural occurrence, but an extended
low period has been in effect since about the year 2000 (see Attachment 3: 1918-2010
lake levels).
The International Joint Commission (ICJ) is another official body that reviews crossboundary
water issues between Canada and the Unites States. The 1909 Boundary
Waters Treaty established the Commission, which has six members. Three are
appointed by the President of the United States, with the advice and approval of the
Senate, and three are appointed by the Governor in Council of Canada, on the advice of
the Prime Minister. The Commissioners must follow the Treaty as they try to prevent or
resolve disputes. They must act impartially, in reviewing problems and deciding on
issues, rather than representing the views of their respective governments.
The ICJ is expected to release a report in the very near future reviewing the issue of low
lake levels and provide recommendations for moving forward. Recently the ICJ has
suggested that the primary cause of this prolonged period of low water levels is climate
change and the resulting drop in precipitation that many academics attribute to climate
change. In particular, the 2011-2012 winter season and 2012 summer seasons were
very dry, and it is believed that higher than normal temperatures are causing
evaporation rates in the Great Lakes to occur faster than precipitation recharge rates.
Environmentalists suggest that the low water levels in the Lake Huron-Michigan system
are a result of over-dredging in the St. Clair River which is now causing water to flow
faster out of the lake system in a drawdown effect. These groups suggest that sills need
to be installed in the St. Clair river bed to slow down the flow leaving the lake system.
Lastly, the Coastal Centre suggests that a possible contributing factor to the low lake
levels is the isostatic rebound of areas that were formerly covered and compressed by
glaciers during the last ice age. This rebound effect causes these areas (including the
lake bed) to rise, and water is displaced to downstream areas.
Regardless of the cause, the low water level in the lake is the single most contributing
factor to the success of the harbour depth maintenance program. Lambton Shores is
not unique in this predicament as other harbours and marinas are facing the same
challenge. When developing this report staff contacted 31 other publicly owned or
operated marinas that have registered with the Ontario Marina Operators Association.
In several cases marinas that have not had to dredge at any point in their existence are
now considering a dredging program in 2013 due to the low water levels in the great
lakes.
When considering changes to this program Council will need to give consideration to
the level of expenditure it is willing to absorb to combat the forces of nature. In a worst
case scenario, should the trend of decreasing water levels in the lake continue into the
future, there will be a point where neither harbour 103 is operable due to a lack of water.