A history of highs and lows that defies simple solutions

WASHINGTON — The United States and Canada spent $20 million since 2000 looking for a new way to control water levels on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, and a $17 million study for the rest of the Great Lakes is under way.

But these are not the first hard looks the governments have taken at the inland waterway.

The International Joint Commission, the binational agency that oversees the waters, has for years tried to figure out what to do about levels that rise to historic highs or lows — and whether the lakes are destined for a long period in either condition.

In 2001, shippers and producers of hydroelectricity complained about low water, including levels that reached a 26-year low on Lake Superior. In January 1993, however, the water on Lake Ontario was 19 inches above normal, and officials let out record amounts of water through the Moses-Saunders Power Dam at Massena to lower it.

In 1987, congressmen from the Great Lakes region urged President Ronald Reagan, at a Canadian summit, to address up high water levels.

And in 1984, the IJC studied the possibility of regulating water levels on Lake Erie, only to conclude that doing so would require $80 million in dredging in the St. Lawrence from Ogdensburg to Morrisburg, Ontario.

The basic lesson of those inquiries and debates was that the IJC is almost always hearing criticism from somewhere, and that the vast inland waterway defies simple solutions.

In 1987, federal lawmakers called for comprehensive changes in water level regulations in response to high water. Rep. James L. Oberstar, D-Minn., said at the time, "We must not resort to tinkering with water levels." He said manipulation kept water too high in Lake Superior while not relieving high water in the other lakes.

Mr. Oberstar is chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Rep. John J. Dingell, D-Mich., said then that the "real solution ... is not to keep treating the symptoms of high water but to get to the cause and do something about it."

That, Mr. Dingell said, would be to increase water flows through the St. Lawrence.

The St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. responded that the river was carrying all the water it could within safety guidelines and to avoid flooding.

As for Lake Erie, in 1984 the IJC said water levels could be regulated, but that the cost — $80 million — would far outweigh the benefit of about $5.2 million. Instead, the commission said, federal, state and provincial governments should adopt better coastal zone management practices to reduce flood and erosion damage along Great Lakes shorelines.