Lake Ontario water levels still rising, force ferry closure
Water levels continue to rise in Lake Ontario.
Historic high water on Lake Ontario is starting to have an impact on the Toronto Islands.
Levels at a Toronto Harbour monitoring station ranged between 75.91 m and 75.96 m through Thursday afternoon -- still hovering around the previous record set amid 2017's disastrous flooding incident.
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Toronto City Councillor Joe Cressy reported via Twitter on Thursday that water levels had forced officials to halt ferry service to Hanlan's Point and close the area surrounding Gibraltar Point on Thursday afternoon. Cressy also stated the rising lake levels caused breaches within Algonquin Island on Wednesday.
On Friday, the councillor offered an update indicating while the ferry service to Hanland's Point was still suspended and the Gibraltar Point area was still closed off, Centre Island and its amusement park were still open and "mostly dry".
Authorities in communities around the lake continue to take steps to mitigate damage and protect the public, including deploying sandbags and pumps, and closing parts of Ontario's Waterfront Trail due to flooding, debris, and erosion.
South of the border, the National Guard is assisting with flood management and recovery efforts in New York, including the deployment of more than 100,000 sandbags and numerous portable dams.
The International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board forecast issued on May 30 indicates a further rise in water levels is expected through at least the first week of June before the lake begins to subside. The board issues new forecasts every Thursday.
While winds are expected to be light on Friday, gustier winds into the weekend could pose issues for the shoreline from Hamilton Harbour to Kingston, as large waves spur further erosion.
One bright spot for the forecast is that little widespread rain is expected over the weekend for the lake itself or for the Ottawa River basin. This should allow outflows from the lake to increase without causing issues further downstream.
