Lake Ontario

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced some changes this week to his plan to build back the southern shore of Lake Ontario.

Local community members will now be able to play an even larger role in shaping the proposed national marine sanctuary in Lake Ontario. The federal government is seeking applications from those interested in serving on a council that would advise the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as it considers creating a 1,700-square-mile national marine sanctuary in the southeastern portion of the lake to preserve the shipwrecks below its waters.

This week, central New York Rep. John Katko (R-Camillus) brought acting administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Pete Gaynor, to tour some of the flooding damage along the Lake Ontario shoreline. The purpose was to figure out how to get funding for those affected.

Katko said it starts with local authorities aggregating the extent of the damages. The state will decide if it warrants a disaster declaration. Then, it goes to the president, which if he approves it, would release funds.

Greece Supervisor Bill Reilich has a new role overseeing the Great Lakes.

The international board that helps manage water levels on the Great Lakes announced it is reducing outflows. This means the International Joint Commission's International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board will be letting less water from Lake Ontario through the Moses-Saunders Power Dam into the upper St. Lawrence River.

Lake Ontario is on the decline, but that doesn’t mean the worst is over. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced it doesn't expect the water in the Great Lakes to go down too much, too soon.

Since the flooding of 2017, the International Joint Commission has been criticized for mismanagement of Lake Ontario. Now, in response to some of those criticisms, the IJC is adding two new seats to the board that regulates the outflows of Lake Ontario.

Lake levels have reached an all-time high in upstate New York. Plans to improve and establish infrastructure along Lake Ontario’s shoreline communities are being developed to deal with what Governor Andrew Cuomo has said could be the ‘new norm’.

Water levels in two of the Great Lakes are the highest ever recorded. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Tuesday that Lakes Erie and Ontario last month reached their highest points since record-keeping began in 1918.

It may not be the news lakeshore property owners want to hear. The organization that regulates water levels on the Great Lakes said it will continue with record outflows from Lake Ontario.

Susan Albright has lived on Edgemere Drive in Greece for decades and there's always been a neighborhood Fourth of July parade.

"Our son is 35, and when he was a toddler, we had him in a float. Behind our car in the parade," she said.

But this year, there will be no parade.

Although members of the joint U.S.-Canadian agency that oversees a water regulation plan came to Central New York on Friday, some of those attending a roundtable discussion weren’t necessarily pleased with what they heard.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) toured flood-ravaged portions of Lake Ontario Monday, saying he expects the entire Lake Ontario shoreline will be declared a disaster area shortly. That would allow homeowners, businesses and governments to access federal disaster dollars. He also presented a three-tiered plan to deal with the record high water levels.

A coalition of New York property owners plans to sue the International Joint Commission, the international body that regulates water levels on Lake Ontario.

As Lake Ontario lingers at record highs, public outcry against the group that manages lake levels continues to rise.

Officials who help regulate the level of Lake Ontario are pointing to some hopeful signs in the effort to deal with the ongoing flooding issues along the lake shore.

It is being called REDI: the Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative. The multi-agency task force was introduced during a conference call with Gov. Andrew Cuomo Wednesday to help communities along the Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River shorelines deal with high water levels.

Water levels in Lake Ontario keep rising.

The International Lake Ontario – St. Lawrence River Board said on Monday that water levels have reached 248.85 feet and will likely reach or exceed the 2017 record high of 248.95 feet within the next few days.

Forecasts show that Lake Ontario levels are expected to crest within the next one to three weeks, mostly within an inch or so of the record high, but officials say that potentially higher levels are possible should wet weather continue.

People along Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River continue to be anxious as water laps up on docks and decks across the region. The weekend’s rain didn’t help the situation.