Automated Lake wide Erosion Predictions and Economic Damages on Lake Ontario

摘要

The shoreline of Lake Ontario has been exposed to erosion and sedimentation processes since the retreat of the Wisconsin Glaciation, approximately 12,000 YBP. In modern times, these processes continue to shape the shoreline along with human influences, such as shoreline protection, harbor construction, dredging and beach nourishment. For example, refer to Figure 1 which documents residential development along an actively eroding shoreline in Wayne County, New York. Water levels play a key role in how we manage coastal hazards along developed shorelines. For example, during periods of high lake levels shoreline erosion rates accelerate beyond the long term background rate and riparian land owners are often faced with the economic burden of building shoreline protection to save their house. During low lake levels, navigation is often a problem that requires intervention in the form of channel dredging. The International Joint Commission (IJC) is presently re-evaluating the operational procedures for the Moses-Saunders Power Dam in Massena, New York, which controls the water levels of Lake Ontario and the flows of the St. Lawrence River. The weekly discharge rates at the dam range from 5,000 to 10,000 cubic meters per second and are regulated by a series of rules developed under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 between the United States and Canada. The current regulation plan is 1958D. New plans presently under consideration require complete impact evaluations for the system stakeholders that are sensitive to water level fluctuations, such as riparian property owners, the natural environment, recreational boating, commercial navigation and hydro electric power generation.