With water in-flows nearing record highs, the Abitibi-Consolidated mill here is opening its waste gates at the dam here to keep Rainy Lake from creeping too high.
On Monday, two waste gates were opened, followed by two more on Tuesday, increasing the volume of water flowing out from Rainy Lake into the lower Rainy River.
“When the in-flows keep increasing, we have to open the waste gates to control the flow,” noted Raimo Tyrvainen, energy and utilities co-ordinator for Abitibi-Consolidated here.
And with melting snow and more rain in the forecast, more gates could be opened before the end of the week.
“We envision we may need to open more,” said Tyrvainen. “The influx into Rainy Lake is rising and with the extra precipitation we’ve been having . . . .
“This is actually early to be opening waste gates but we’re approaching record in-flows,” he added.
On Monday, the water level on Rainy Lake reached the 2000 rule set by the International Joint Commission and rose slightly higher than that yesterday, prompting more waste gates to be opened.
By opening the gates, the water level in the lower Rainy River downstream from the mill is sure to rise, especially with additional run-off continuing to flow into the lake and river because of colder weather slowing the thaw in the ground.
“The Rainy River will rise given the extra discharge out of the lake,” Tyrvainen noted.
Both the Abitibi-Consolidated mill and the Boise Cascade one over in International Falls currently are running at full hydro production from the dam.
In related news, the Lake of the Woods outflow was increased Tuesday from 410 to 550 cubic metres/s, and will be increased again to 700 cu. m/s effective Thursday, the Lake of the Woods Control Board announced Tuesday.
Further increases in outflow are likely over the weekend or early next week, it added.
The changes in outflow will cause the level of the Winnipeg River immediately below Kenora to increase 80 cm (31 inches), the LWCB said.
River levels at Minaki are not affected by Lake of the Woods outflows up to 700 cu. m/s but will rise if further outflow increases are made, it noted.
Inflow conditions in the Lake of the Woods drainage area have changed dramatically over the past two weeks due to the combined effect of the onset of spring freshet and above normal precipitation, said the LWCB.
The snow over the Easter weekend has added significant additional water to the basin, necessitating more aggressive outflow increases, it added.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
