International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Board Water Levels Committee Announces Initial Spring Regulation Plan for Rainy and Namakan Lakes
The International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Board (IRLWWB)’s Water Levels Committee (WLC) established an initial spring regulation plan for Rainy and Namakan Lakes on March 10, 2025. This plan is issued in accordance with a Temporary Supplementary Order issued by the International Joint Commission (IJC) which combines the previous high flood risk and standard rule curves for Rainy Lake.
In accordance with the WLC spring regulation plan, the initial directive will be to regulate outflow from the lakes in March to target the following water level ranges for the month of April: 35% to 65% band of the rule curve for Rainy Lake and the 40% to 65% band of the rule curve for Namakan Lake. The WLC will monitor conditions and precipitation forecasts over the coming weeks and provide further directions for lake level regulation, as needed.
The initial spring water level targets were established based on an evaluation of current conditions and concerns over drought, including the following factors:
- Conditions are drier than normal.
- Slightly below-normal snow water equivalent in the entire basin.
- Deep frost depth could enhance spring snowmelt or runoff.
- Seasonal forecasts (April through June) indicate warmer than normal temperatures and equal chances of above or below normal precipitation.
A virtual public information session was held on March 5, 2025 that provided a summary of basin conditions and seasonal forecast information and gave residents in the basin the opportunity to share observations and concerns.
For up-to-date information on water levels decisions and other updates from the IRLWWB, you can sign up for notifications right to your inbox with the Board’s new notification system. To sign-up visit the website address: https://www.ijc.org/en/rlwwb/watershed/data.
Associated Links
Contacts
Matt DeWolfe (Engineering Advisor, Canada)
Abby Moore (Engineering Advisor, United States)
International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Board