Almost two months after severe flooding in the area, water levels on Rainy Lake have finally dropped to be within acceptable levels.
“Rainy Lake is in under the operating band,” Rick Walden, engineering advisor for the Rainy Lake Board of Control, said this morning.
“It’s pretty wonderful. It is certainly nice to see it moving in the right direction,” he added.
As of press time, water levels on Rainy Lake were 337.69 m (1107.92 ft). On Saturday, water levels slipped under the upper rule curve for this time of year, which is approximately 337.7m (1108 ft.)
“If anything, it’s a little quicker than we’d been expecting but water levels have been dropping quite quickly and the continued dry weather was a factor in turning things around,” he noted.
Since last Wednesday, gates on Rainy Lake have been closed one or two at a time. Yesterday, nine of the 15 gates had been closed.
“It’s good news for downstream as well,” he enthused. “The flow has been dropping on Rainy River and it has been reducing quite quickly. The level of Lake of the Woods will also turn and finally go down.”
The International Rainy Lake Board of Control and the International Rainy River Water Pollution Board will be meeting Aug. 20 at La Place Rendez-Vous.
The public meeting will address a number of issues including the extreme water fall this summer. Anyone interested in learning more about this issue or wishes to ask questions to both boards is invited to attend.
