U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

The start of the shipping season on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River will be delayed by at least 12 days. It’s due to the efforts to try and deal with the possibility of flooding along the lakeshore.

The amount of water that officials on the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board are releasing from Lake Ontario into the St. Lawrence River continues to be above the usual outflows for this time of year. That is due to the fact that lake levels are still over the so-called trigger levels in the government's water management, called Plan 2014. When those levels are exceeded, the Board can deviate from the Plan, allowing for more water to be pushed into the river.

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.

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.

With Lake Ontario's water levels about a foot above average, communities along its shoreline are trying to get help in preventing the flooding that devastated the area in 2017.

According to the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board, Lake Ontario is more than a foot higher than usual for this time of year. However, Keith Koralewski of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says, “Most of the Great Lakes are currently above average.”

A sure sign that spring is just around the corner can be seen on the waters off of Buffalo. Crews from the New York Power Authority started the process of removing the nearly 1.66 mile long Lake Erie - Niagara River Ice Boom on Monday.

LaSalle Park on Buffalo’s West Side is well-known for potholes and roller-coaster-like drives along the waterfront. With an infusion of $1.4 million from the city, that reputation will soon be no more.

Fish in Cattaraugus Creek could be swimming in new waters for the first time in almost a century.

The West Seneca Town Board heard Monday night from homeowners who have been inundated with ice-jam flooding this winter. The situation was also brought to Governor Cuomo's attention.