Governor Cuomo has directed state agencies to provide any assistance they can to communities along the Lake Ontario shoreline where water levels are expected to continue rising well into May. He also says the Army Corps of Engineers has increased outflow from the St. Lawrence River dam at Massena.
The International Joint Commission which covers the Great Lakes says that has to be done carefully, because the St. Lawrence is also experiencing unusually high water from the heavy spring rains and runoff.
The governor says Monroe, Cayuga, Jefferson, Niagara, Orleans and Wayne Counties need to be ready for shoreline flooding. He says more sandbags are being filled and sent to low-lying areas, especially known trouble spots. Boats and 4-wheel drive vehicles have been stationed ready for use in case of flooding.
Lake Ontario is currently 18 inches above the long-term average for this time of year. About 40 percent of Lake Ontario’s water comes from local stream runoff and precipitation, and the rest comes in via the Niagara River. It only has one way out…through the St. Lawrence.