Contact:

Dave White, New York Sea Grant, Recreation/Tourism Specialist, P: 315.312.3042, E: dgw9@cornell.edu

Watertown, NY, March 22, 2013 - Despite a decent amount of snowfall this winter, experts say water levels on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River will probably be low again this year.

"Last year this time, it was 80 degrees and people were very anxious to get out on the water," says New York Sea Grant's Recreation/Tourism Specialist Dave White. "Right now, most of our bodies of water are below average where they should be this time of year."
 
As White tells the newscasters at Watertown's WWNY-TV 7 News This Morning studios, only 15 percent of the levels come from run-off from rain and snow. Most -- 85 percent -- comes from the rest of the Great Lakes system through Niagara Falls and the Welland Canal.
 
And, White points out, Lakes Huron and Michigan have never been as low as they are now. "It's relatively dry across the Great Lakes system," says White.

"So, the concern is, depending on what kind of year we have, how will our lakes, rivers and ponds fare in terms of their water levels. Folks are really going to need to determine, especially later in the year, where they are going to be boating and getting in and out of the boat slip, launch ramp, marina or even the harbor."

For more on this topic, check out the video clip.



And there's more "NYSG Great Lakes Boating & Marine Trades" News available via the "News/Topics" link in the left-hand sidebar at www.nyseagrant.org/marina.

Since April 2006, White has been bringing Sea Grant's "message" to the morning masses at WWNY TV 7, a Fox affiliate in downtown Watertown, during one of the highest rated TV blocks in the "wake-up hours," the 6:30-7 am stretch.

Sea Grant's 'five minutes of fame' - which potentially reaches around 10,000 viewers in New York's Jefferson and Northern Oswego Counties - has featured topics over the years such as boating safety, aquatic invasive species, diving in search of sunken wrecks, the dune and Salmon River stewards program, shoreline land issues, tourism, and marine safety. 

More Info: New York Sea Grant

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York, is one of 33 university-based programs under the National Sea Grant College Program (NSGCP) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The NSGCP engages this network of the nation’s top universities in conducting scientific research, education, training and extension projects designed to foster science-based decisions about the use and conservation of our aquatic resources. Through its statewide network of integrated services, NYSG has been promoting coastal vitality, environmental sustainability, and citizen awareness about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources since 1971.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube links. NYSG also offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/coastlines for NY Coastlines, its flagship publication, which, in 2014, merges with the program's e-newsletter, Currents. NY Coastlines is published several times a year.