Trent Severn Water Levels

[Sinker]

We're in big trouble. The whole system, top to bottom is below historic lows. Well below navigation levels, and not enough to melt upstream to fill anything up.

 

Check it out.

 

http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/on/trentsevern/visit/ne-wl/trent_e.asp

[captpierre]

Pigeon up 6 inches over weekend

 

Looked for spawning eyes at Bobcaygeon today

None seen.

 

Water levels on the Sturgeon side are up to dock levels

 

Was wondering why they dropped levels so long

Was for doing lock maintenance.

Otherwise makes no sense.

[Sinker]

Well, they cant pull water out of their ass, and with nothing but historic low levels all the way to the top of the watersheds, it doesnt look good at all.

 

I can understand being a little low, or high, but my gawd, its not even close! Its not hard to measure snowpack and water levels upstream....someone is asleep at the switch.

 

S.

[ecmilley]

Scugog and sturgeon seem normal tri lakes way down havnt chrcked east much. but unless some.ones crystalnball has been workin overtime dont see this fixin itself anytime soon

They dropped redstone lile ten ft beginning of february for no reasom i could see

[moxie]

Start E-mailing the Minister and ask that Asshat if he even has a clue about what has been reported here. Probably too busy helping Uncle Kate institute a "ram it down your throat" curriculum, covering up endless scandals or finding another tax in order to separate you from your hard earned money so they can piss it away.......again.

 

And if you dare comment in excuse of his responsibility as the "Minister of Natural Resources" for the province of Ontario, you are indeed as much a fool as he.

[Sinker]

Look at the charts ernie. Scugog and sturg are well below seasonal average, and everything upstream is at, or barely above historic low. NONE of the lakes have reached navigable levels yet.

 

Someone has some explaining to do!!

 

S.

[ecmilley]

In town today and water in scugog is at very top of the mill dam and slightly tricklin over. On stuegeon water is back in mynboathouse no where near a spring high but looks like an august level . But south end pigeon real bad if u take a drive down 17 .

[Sinker]

It takes a ton of water to raise the tri lakes. I don't see it happening.

 

S.

[ecmilley]

No notnmuch rain coming and really zippo for snow pak anywhere in hali or crowe drainage basins

[musky666]

Balsam seems very low to me, been at the launch the last 2 weekends and level barely rose from one to the next. I would say water is at least a foot lower than 'normal' and the shallow bays lining the highway are at their late fall stump filled best still...

[fishindevil]

I have been at this for weeks and been sending emails and heard all their crap excuses and it's still right now a long way from even summer levels !!!! What a joke same crap as usual every year !!!! Parks Canada & Trent Severn water clowns are at it again !!!! I have sent in pics as well !!!! A week & a half ago I was able to walk up and touch the base of the caygeon dam from the downside !!!!!! It's the same crap as usual !!!!!! It's still way below normal and will be

[singingdog]

I have been monitoring and posting river levels, including much of the TS system, for 15+ years. This is indeed a low-water year. Lower than normal snowpack up this way, in combination with a melt that mostly evaporated instead of running off seems to be the culprit. 2 days of rain can change all of that, but it doesn't seem to be in the forecast.

 

Sturgeon is below average, but not below the historic low, Scugog is very close to average, Buckhorn is at an historic low, well below navigation range. Those levels are bad news for the Kawarthas, really bad news for the Haliburton Highlands because they will just drain our lakes to get the Kawartha lakes up to navigable levels. Most of the larger lakes in the northern part of the system are right around the historic low, with very little snow left to run off. Really, really bad news for the Pan Am games that want to use that water to host a whitewater event in Minden.

Edited April 15, 2015 by singingdog

[Garnet]

The bearer will still be in Balsam. So the stump fields in Mitchell will be dry.

[bigugli]

Start E-mailing the Minister and ask that Asshat if he even has a clue about what has been reported here. Probably too busy helping Uncle Kate institute a "ram it down your throat" curriculum, covering up endless scandals or finding another tax in order to separate you from your hard earned money so they can piss it away.......again.

 

And if you dare comment in excuse of his responsibility as the "Minister of Natural Resources" for the province of Ontario, you are indeed as much a fool as he.

 

Hate to tell you this, but you are barking up the wrong tree. Parks Canada, read federal, read Tory, are the ones responsible for this screw up. They operate and control the Trent Severn waterway. It's their experts that screwed up on their spring flow estimates.

[mattybculp]

I wont be happy if this screws up my spring crappie fishing. Its one of my favorite times of year. The in laws have a place on upper buckhorn just through the narrows and I can still walk 10 feet out from the shoreline and am still on bare ground and rock. I don't think this is going to be good. All my spots are virtually dry.

[AKRISONER]

im having huge flashbacks of the Stop the Drop days.

 

It sucks guys and its not fun at all, i feel for all of you.

 

it got so bad on GB that I couldnt even launch my boat anymore using an already extended marine rail system. it was so bad that I couldnt float a boat that was 10 feet outside of our boathouse, I was able to walk on dry land around it.

 

The culprit here is well below average precipitation in February and March and a poor judgement on the guys that control your dams. I will say that at least someone has some form of control. Maybe the problem can be rectified next year.

Edited April 15, 2015 by AKRISONER

[Sinker]

I wont be happy if this screws up my spring crappie fishing. Its one of my favorite times of year. The in laws have a place on upper buckhorn just through the narrows and I can still walk 10 feet out from the shoreline and am still on bare ground and rock. I don't think this is going to be good. All my spots are virtually dry.

Well, unless you can pull water out of thin air, we're screwed. There's nothing upstream to fill these lakes.

 

I hate to say it, but this is going to be a HUGE problem. Everything from launching boats, to people not having water, navigation, tourist dollars.....its endless. Its crazy.

 

Someone has some serious explaining to do.

 

S.

[Sinker]

I have been monitoring and posting river levels, including much of the TS system, for 15+ years. This is indeed a low-water year. Lower than normal snowpack up this way, in combination with a melt that mostly evaporated instead of running off seems to be the culprit. 2 days of rain can change all of that, but it doesn't seem to be in the forecast.

 

Sturgeon is below average, but not below the historic low, Scugog is very close to average, Buckhorn is at an historic low, well below navigation range. Those levels are bad news for the Kawarthas, really bad news for the Haliburton Highlands because they will just drain our lakes to get the Kawartha lakes up to navigable levels. Most of the larger lakes in the northern part of the system are right around the historic low, with very little snow left to run off. Really, really bad news for the Pan Am games that want to use that water to host a whitewater event in Minden.

How can they drain the Halliburtons when the levels there are at historic lows too??

 

Average water levels at the end of April are real bad news, never mind historic lows in a 400km waterway that is not navigable.

 

S.

[Jigger]

People in Haliburton already complaining. But Singingdog is right, i fear. I don't put much stock in the lock system anyways, the days of commercial craft going through there are long gone. There needs to be a better system top to bottom that works with what mother nature gave us before instituting a log in/log out structure. Being drydocked is the big problem for us that cottage in and around haliburton. Because they will take the water, its just the way it is.

[Sinker]

I hear ya Jigger! (long time so see BTW!!!)

 

I get the best of both worlds, live in the kawartha's, and cottage at the very top of the irondale river watershed. I'll have no water anywhere.

 

Just think of all those beautiful haliburton gold sand beaches though.......(banging head)

 

S.

[mattaw]

This is fun. I wonder how many boats are going to be wrecked or have motors ruined this year. Stony lake should be a real treat.

 

What does this all mean for our lakes further north (like Paudash). It seems like a no win game, you try to raise levels by lowering them other places, we need rain.

Edited April 15, 2015 by mattaw

[Sinker]

LOTS of rain....at the very least.

 

S.

[mattaw]

Spring is always fun, this spring not so much, definately worried what we'll see once ice comes out up north. Time to do a rain dance eh Sinker?

[singingdog]

How can they drain the Halliburtons when the levels there are at historic lows too??

 

Average water levels at the end of April are real bad news, never mind historic lows in a 400km waterway that is not navigable.

 

S.

They will still take whatever water they can. The lakes up here - the ones on the TW system - were dammed years ago to create a reservoir for the TW navigation system. TW sees that as the primary use of those lakes, all other uses are secondary. I don't see what they could have done about it. There just hasn't been water to hold back. The Gull system has been pretty much shutdown - all dams holding water - since the thaw started. It can all change with a few days of rain, as long as it happens before the leaves are out.

[bigugli]

PC will just draw more from those lakes used as reservoirs in the Kawarthas and Haliburtons. Sadly, residents and cottagers have no say in the matter. I've experienced similar when PC drew down reservoir lakes along the Severn in the past.