International Watersheds Initiative Projects
The International Joint Commission’s boards in watersheds along the US-Canada border carry out International Watersheds Initiative (IWI) projects to promote communication, conduct scientific studies and contribute to the resolution of watershed issues. Projects are developed by a board and reviewed by Commission staff. All projects are consistent with the board’s mandate and meet the objectives of the IWI. Learn more about the International Watersheds Initiative.
Displaying 1 - 50 of 86.
Year
2022
Project Description
Ongoing water management efforts that mitigate extreme flows to reduce flooding impacts on infrastructure throughout the Red River watershed have led to concerns about fish passage over existing dams as well as through or around current and pending water diversion projects. Many of these species are...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2022
Project Description
This project will continue the development of a long-term stable isotope monitoring network for the St. Mary and Milk River basins that supports source water separation and identification. A coupled isotope-hydrologic model of the basins will be applied to simulate isotopic separations and source...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2022
Project Description
The Osoyoos Lake Water Science Forum provides an opportunity for residents of the Okanogan/Okanagan watershed to learn about water management, climate change and the ecology of Osoyoos Lake and the broader Okanagan/Okanogan transboundary watershed. It provides a forum for resource managers, policy...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2022
Project Description
Since 1981, fish counting at the most downstream dam on the St. Croix River has provided a reliable annual estimate of the number of anadromous fish returning to the watershed. NB Power’s Milltown Dam at St. Stephen NB has been an ideal site to measure progress of international efforts to restore...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2022
Project Description
This project is a 3-year study to better understand stressors affecting water quality in the St. Croix River watershed including nutrient concentrations and their distribution. It will also inform enhanced water quality monitoring in the basin. Overall, the project will help to: (1) rank stress in...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2021
Project Description
This project complements an existing project conducted by the Okanagan Basin Watershed Board (OBWB) to collect near-shore bathymetry data over the Canadian portion of Osoyoos Lake, upstream connecting water bodies, and Okanagan Lake. This project extends the OBWB’s work area to include the U.S...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Building the foundations for Indigenous collaboration in the International Red River Basin – Phase I
Year
2021
Project Description
The International Joint Commission (IJC) has prioritized working actively to increase collaboration and engagement with Indigenous peoples (i.e., Métis Nation, First Nations, and Tribes) along the transboundary basins, including those within the Red River Basin. Indigenous participation and...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2021
Project Description
This project is to produce a Rainy-Lake of the Woods State of the Basin Report (SOBR) 2021 update in a binational project partnership of the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation (a not-for-profit Registered Charitable Organization), the International Multi-Agency Arrangement (a...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2021
Project Description
Fish counting at Milltown Dam has been in place since 1981 and is a method of establishing an approximate count of the anadromous fish entering the St. Croix River at the lowermost dam located in St. Stephen, NB and operated by NB Power Milltown Hydro Power Generating Station (Milltown Dam). This...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2021
Project Description
The International Joint Commission has recommended to the governments of Canada and the USA adopt objectives and targets for nitrogen and phosphorus at the Red River international boundary to help address eutrophication concerns in the Red River and Lake Winnipeg. These objectives and targets, while...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2021
Project Description
This project analyzed existing historic isotopic data obtained for the region and previously catalogued by the proponent and contrast these data with data collected in 2020, representing the first time in over 100 years that water isotopic signatures on the Milk River were derived solely from its...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2020
Project Description
This project will identify factors contributing to the consistently increasing concentrations of sulfate, TDS, and chloride (as a group, these three constituents may be referred to hereafter as “salts”) in the Red River Basin and evaluate the relative effect of those factors on WQOs for the Red...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2020
Project Description
The video focuses on the IWI program, including a brief history of how the IWI began, a description of how the program functions and an overview of the benefits/value added of the program. The videos purpose is to enhance the visibility of the IWI program to the public on the IJC website and social...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2020
Project Description
The purpose of this project was to design and develop a visualization tool to illustrate the river profile downstream of Kootenay Lake given certain inflow, outflow, and lake level conditions. The information is presented through a user-friendly, interactive, web-based, dynamic visualization tool...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2020
Project Description
This project has 3 aspects: 2020 Fish Counts at Millltown; Map and Document Library; Youth Engagement Program.
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2020
Project Description
The project would be a 4-year study to better understand stressors affecting water quality within the St. Croix River, and to undertake enhanced water quality monitoring in the river with a particular focus on understanding nutrient concentrations and distribution in the watershed.
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2019
Project Description
The Rainy-Lake of the Woods Basin is a popular tourist destination, close to several large water systems, and there is a lack of consistent aquatic invasive species (AIS) prevention efforts across jurisdictions, which leaves it vulnerable to introduction of non-native aquatic biota and range spread...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2019
Project Description
The Red River is susceptible to periods of dry conditions that have the potential to adversely impact ecological conditions and water supply. The project is aligned with International Red River Board’s work plan by improving water quantity knowledge for water quantity apportionment and Instream Flow...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2019
Project Description
The primary goal of this project is to develop a historical database representing annual or sub-annual evapotranspiration (ET) totals in the Milk and St. Mary River basins from 1982-2018 using remote sensing. This database will lay the foundation for the establishment of a remote sensing tool to...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2019
Project Description
This project is a continuation of ongoing GLAM efforts to collect data to support model validation and will result in detailed vegetation community data referenced to elevation and seasonal water levels in 16 Lake Ontario coastal wetlands. The current year of this project is focused on resurveying...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2019
Project Description
The Osoyoos Lake Board of Control is developing a multi-year, multi-phase project to analyze the vulnerability of Osoyoos Lake and the relevant IJC Orders of Approval to a projected shift in the climate and hydrology of the Okanagan/Okanogan and Similkameen Basins. Inflow to Osoyoos Lake is mostly...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2019
Project Description
The International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board have produced a documentary and short videos that cover topics on specific details of regulation practices and constraints on the Lake Ontario St. Lawrence River System during high water conditions. The documentary and short videos are...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2019
Project Description
Winter operations of the Moses-Saunders Dam (St. Lawrence River) in accordance with direction from the IJC’s International Lake Ontario – St. Lawrence River Board (ILOSLRB) have historically resulted in a large drawdown in water levels on Lake St. Lawrence (the forebay for the hydropower structures)...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2019
Project Description
The International Souris River Board (ISRB) has a mandate to annually report on compliance with Water Quality Objectives (WQOs), review existing WQOs every five years and develop new recommendations regarding water-quality objectives. This proposal addresses the ISRB mandate, as a comprehensive...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2019
Project Description
In collaboration with state, provincial, tribal, NGO, and federal partners, the International St. Croix Watershed Board (ISCRWB) will initiate the first bi-national comprehensive effort to evaluate fish passage improvement opportunities and constraints at Woodland and Grand Falls dams on the St...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2019
Project Description
Anadromous fish have been counted at the research trap at the Milltown dam fishway since 1981. This project forms the basis for measuring the progress of current international efforts to restore sea-run alewife, blueback herring, and American shad to the St. Croix River watershed. It also plays an...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2018
Project Description
Historically low 2018 water levels in Lake St. Lawrence have prompted concerns that fish populations and habitat may be locally impacted. Long-term residents of the Long Sault area have indicated that low water levels have exposed an unprecedented area of river bottom that has been affecting both...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2018
Project Description
SPARROW (SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes) is a watershed model that relates patterns in water quality to human activities and natural processes. Using existing monitoring data, SPARROW analyses the water quality of streams, rivers, and lakes in relation to the location and...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2018
Project Description
Anadromous fish have been counted at the research trap at the Milltown dam fishway since 1981. This project forms the basis for measuring the progress of current international efforts to restore sea-run alewife, blueback herring, and American shad to the St. Croix River watershed. It also plays an...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2018
Project Description
This project will investigate how variations in river flow affect dissolved oxygen levels, which are important to determining river biological conditions. The project covers a 5-year period from 2019 to 2023. The proposed work is to install and maintain continuous water-quality monitoring sensors (3...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2018
Project Description
The United States and Canada independently developed their own suite of hydrographic datasets using different standards and approaches. Containing mapped rivers, lakes, and watershed boundaries, these national datasets stopped at the international border and often did not line up, leaving an area of...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2018
Project Description
This is a continuation of ongoing GLAM efforts to collect data to support model validation. This project will result in detailed vegetation community data referenced to elevation and seasonal water levels in 16 Lake Ontario coastal wetlands (i.e., the same 16 wetlands that were surveyed in 2017)...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2018
Project Description
This project is a hydroacoustic telemetry study that is being conducted in the Red River to study movements and habitat use of a number of fish species including Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens), Bigmouth Buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinellus), Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), Walleye (Sander...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2017
Project Description
High water levels throughout the Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River system in 2017 impacted several shoreline communities, stakeholders and businesses. This project consists of analyzing aerial imagery data collected in 2016 by NOAA, 2012 and 2017 by the Army Corps of Engineers, 2017 by Transport...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Binational Water Quality Modeling Using SPARROW – Development of Models for Transboundary Watersheds
Year
2017
Project Description
SPARROW (SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes) is a watershed model that relates patterns in water quality to human activities and natural processes. Using existing monitoring data, SPARROW analyses the water quality of streams, rivers, and lakes in relation to the location and...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2017
Project Description
SPARROW (SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes) is a watershed model that relates patterns in water quality to human activities and natural processes. Using existing monitoring data, SPARROW analyses the water quality of streams, rivers, and lakes in relation to the location and...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2017
Project Description
During the high water event of 2017, the Board responded to the communications challenge on many fronts.
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2017
Project Description
Anadromous fish have been counted at the research trap at the Milltown dam fishway since 1981. This project forms the basis for measuring the progress of current international efforts to restore sea-run alewife, blueback herring, and American shad to the St. Croix River watershed. It also plays an...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2017
Project Description
The East Grand Lake Basin in eastern Maine and southwestern New Brunswick drains an area of 132 mi2. The impoundment provides storage for hydropower operations and the maintenance of minimum streamflows on Forest City Stream for environmental compliance. Estimates of unregulated hydrology for the...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2017
Project Description
The Canadian Precipitation Analysis (CaPA) is an operational near real-time gridded precipitation product from Environment Canada available since April 2011 for North America. CaPA has generated a lot of enthusiasm in the Great Lakes area, due to its unique capability of capturing some of the...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2017
Project Description
The United States and Canada independently developed their own suite of hydrographic datasets using different standards and approaches. Containing mapped rivers, lakes, and watershed boundaries, these national datasets stopped at the international border and often did not line up, leaving an area of...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2017
Project Description
The United States and Canada independently developed their own suite of hydrographic datasets using different standards and approaches. Containing mapped rivers, lakes, and watershed boundaries, these national datasets stopped at the international border and often did not line up, leaving an area of...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2017
Project Description
Estimates of consumptive use and evaporative losses are an important component of the computation of the natural flow of the Milk River and apportionment of Milk River water between the U.S. and Canada.
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2017
Project Description
This project is a continuation of ongoing GLAM efforts to collect data to support model validation and will result in detailed vegetation community data referenced to elevation and seasonal water levels in 16 Lake Ontario coastal wetlands. The collected data will augment existing datasets from...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2017
Project Description
This project will develop water quality and aquatic ecosystem health Objectives and Alert Levels for the Rainy-Lake of the Woods Basin. Existing Objectives are outdated and it is not known if the Alert Level parameters are those that Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Board (the Board) would deem...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2017
Project Description
Monuments indicating the historic peak lake level of Osoyoos Lake documented in 1894, 1972, 1974, and 1997 by the U.S. Geological Survey will be constructed at public parks on both sides of the border in Osoyoos, British Columbia and Oroville, Washington. These prominently displayed historic peak...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2017
Project Description
This is for the first phase of a project to use Project WET* tools to bring news and activities of the International Rainy Lake of the Woods Watershed to schools in the basin. In this phase, the Board will develop a Kindergarten to Grade 12 cross reference guide, matching Minnesota state curriculum...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2017
Project Description
A River Film, produced by Ascent Films, Inc. and the Washington State Department of Ecology in coordination with the IOLBC was finalized in August 2017 and premiered at the IOLBC annual public meeting in Osoyoos, B.C., and at the IJC semi-annual meeting in Ottawa, ON in October 2017. The first...
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2017
Project Description
During both the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Study (LOSLRS) and the International Upper Great Lakes Study (IUGLS), coastal wetland performance indicators were developed and used to help assess how changes in water level management strategies may impact wetland vegetation response.
Bundle name
IWI Project
Year
2017
Project Description
Lake Superior regulation affects levels and flows in the lower St. Marys River. Unnatural changes in outflow can occur at the beginning of each month and the Board of Control has been working on methods to quantify impacts associated with regulation to better accommodate environmental objectives.
Bundle name
IWI Project