St. Lawrence River temperature

[PT4476]

50F last weekend on the JB King.

 

[Pinecube]

Between the snow melt, spring thaw and amount of rain we've had the past month, the Ottawa River is flooding parts of Quebec, and I hear that the water level of the great lakes is higher than usual. I can make a guess but does anyone know what the actual conditions are like at the St Lawrence?

 

[lerpy]

I was in at the Conestoga last week and the water is very high. The road down to the Conestoga was almost flooded over. Current was fairly strong, and a lot of debris in the water from shore run off otherwise vis was decent. Temp was about 45 degrees. The river authority was saying that river levels may rise up to another 6 inches.

 

[Pinecube]

Wow that really is high if it's flooding the roadway, thanks for the info. If the weather reports can be trusted we are supposed to get a lot more rain on friday and saturday...
On the plus side the lock 28 drift must be one heck of a ride right now!

 

[shoredivr]

Huh, I'll be down on the Victoria Day weekend, wonder what it will be like then...

I saw a photo of the steps in Centeen Park and the water was at the top step.

 

[Pinecube]

Huh, I'll be down on the Victoria Day weekend, wonder what it will be like then...

I saw a photo of the steps in Centeen Park and the water was at the top step.

I've talked to some guys who own land on the river, the water still hasn't gone down any. They've heard that because of the water level in the great lakes, it's likely that the water level in the St Lawrence won't go down until late June.

These photos were put up on facebook, one from SOS the other from Ottawa Divers showing the water level at Centeen Park, both from last week:

 

[lerpy]

Water is still good and high in the river. Last I was in and reports from divers, vis is not as good as it could be this time of year due to all the run off and crap filtering into the water. Current is up a bit as the dams are running open to try and bring the water levels down. Last I read the Seaway has increased from 6800 cubic meters a second to 7200. Water temps still low due to amount of water.

 

[Pinecube]

55F at the Rothesay today, about 10-15' vis. Current is a bit stronger than usual.
Water is just over the second stair and the picnic table on the "beach" is now in three pieces.

 

[Bison]

Does anyone know why the river has become so silty over the last 5 years or so? It used to be so clear with at least 50 - 100 feet visibility regularly, especially on the U.S. side. The last few years, it's gotten progressively siltier.

For example, I remember being able to see (7 and 8 years ago) almost the length of the Keystorm clearly and now you can just see maybe 30 feet if that on most days. We could look inside without a light and see the entire open space. Now, even with a light, you can barely see into the Keystorm. Well, it keeps us on the outside of the wreck for the most part. You could see the America clearly from a distance, and now you just follow the chain almost blindly until you get to it. Why so much silt lately?

The Zebra muscle infestation had filtered the water and made the River a little more clear, such as your description of a several years back, but unfortunately the Gobies have moved in and are one species eating and destroying the Zebra population. This has caused some of the decreased visibility. If the water level is low and you get some warm weather you may be faced with some algae blooms that can decrease the visibility as well.

June 10th the water at depth on the Daryaw and Gaskin was showing ~ 56 degrees F.

 

[JohnRom]

Recorded 64F today at Centeen Park