Weather and water temps have been pretty much the norm for the middle of October: sunny, cool days punctuated by regular rain and thunderstorms and the river dipping below 15C/60F. The main event of this Thanksgiving weekend has been the International River Board's raising of the water level in Lake St. Lawrence (the area between …
Category: 2020 News
Lock Conditions 12 Aug 2020
I dove the lock last evening... I have been working at updating information on the HydroElectric Plant and wanted to do a quick check of current conditions. It was my first dive of the season - with all the changes in my pandemic existence this summer - and I noted several changes. The first was …
Website Updates are Moving Along
I've been working at updating the site as you know. I have now added a lot more information and a number of short videos to my pages on (1) entry details, (2) drifting to the locks while aiming for certain arrival spots and watching for clues along the river bottom to help you get there, …
Lock 23 Diving is Running Smoothly
Diving at Lock 23 is working well with beautiful weather, good dive conditions, and ample parking for those divers who are comfortable outfitting themselves without assistance and can cruise the locks with the knowledge that they can get home safely if separated from their buddy or group. Within these parameters, the system runs smoothly. There …
Morrisburg Beach Closed on Weekends
South Dundas has opted to close its beaches at Morrisburg and Iroquois on weekends, effective immediately until further notice. This obviously impacts divers on Lock 23 since the beach is the exit point for the dive. Until I can get out tomorrow and survey things, I do not know exactly how divers might yet work …
Lock 23 Conditions: 25 June 2020
Apart from the strong winds yesterday that messed up visibility for a while, Lock 23 conditions are good. Water temperature is 18C/65F, a great starting point for wet-suiters. Current is fairly normal in all areas. The washrooms at the public beach are currently closed for maintenance. The washrooms at the public boat dock are open …
Lock 23 Conditions: June 4, 2020
The water is slowly warming up: 12.5C/54.5F, comfortable for only the most hardy wet-suiters. Most divers (of the few that are out there now) are still wearing drysuits. Current is quick - the dam in Cornwall is wide open to continue reducing levels in Lake Ontario. Water levels are low but not ridiculously so - …
Lock 23 Conditions: May 15
This should prove to be an interesting season at Lock 23. COVID-19 aside, let me first review the current state of spring river conditions. Recall that Morrisburg's Lock 23 sits in the middle of "Lake St. Lawrence", the 1959 body of water between Cornwall and Iroquois created when dams were constructed at either end. The …
Record Low Waters!
As of January 1st, and with the end of the season for freighter travel, the International River Board has decided to dramatically increase outflow from Lake Ontario in an effort to further reduce water levels there. They will do so until ice formation prevents it. In our Lake St. Lawrence region (between Iroquois and Cornwall …