Lake levels continue to rise

The water level on Rainy Lake is inching higher by the day as heavy rains continue to fall.
“It’s still going up,” Abitibi-Consolidated spokesman Gary Rogozinski said Monday morning.
The lake was measured at 338.469 m (1,110.55 ft) as of 6 a.m. Monday, an increase of two cm (8/10ths of an inch) in the last 24 hours. The rise mostly was due to heavy rainfall over the weekend.
“The inflow is a good 200-300 cubic metres per second and it is coming in faster than it can go out,” Rogozinski added.
Lake levels have risen dramatically this month due to torrential rains that flooded some area, caused highway and rail closures, and led to the entire Rainy River District being declared a disaster area.
While some of the water has subsided elsewhere in the district, there continues to be a threat to lakefront property on Rainy Lake.
“The lake will continue to rise until we get come relief from the rain,” Rogozinski noted. “Everything is wide open and there is nothing more we can do.”
The forecast predicts a respite from rain for Wednesday through Saturday with only cloudy skies, but Rogozinski said there’s no guarantee the forecast will be correct.
“There’s nothing we can do about Mother Nature,” he reasoned.