| ANSWER: | |
In 2006, rainfall in the spring, summer and early fall was well below normal. As a
result, inflow to Lake of the Woods for the four month period June through
September was the third lowest on record since 1916. Inflow for this period
averaged only 95 m³/s, about one-quarter of the median amount (378 m³/s) and
about one-tenth of the amounts received in the recent wet years 2001 and 2002 (951
and 965 m³/s respectively) for the same four month period. Thus, even with
significant reductions in lake outflow, the lake level fell through the period.
Given the below normal inflow, some have asked why the outflow from the lake
was not reduced earlier (outflow was reduced from near 600 down to 200 m³/s in
steps over the month of June, and eventually down to 100 m³/s). There are two
main reasons. The first is the need for the Board to consider all interests and all
areas under its mandate. While an earlier reduction might have kept Lake of the
Woods levels higher, it likely would have been very harmful to the spring fish
spawn in the Winnipeg River, based on input received from biologists with the
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Second, the risk of high inflow due to
heavy rain is greatest in June and early July. With the lake level still above its
median level through to mid-May due to an early and strong snowmelt runoff,
decreasing outflow too early or too quickly would have significantly increased the
risk of unacceptably high levels.
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