Things to know about the IJC plans

• The flow water from Lake Ontario is principally controlled by the Moses-Saunders Hydro-Electric Dam at Cornwall Ontario and Messina New York.
• In addition to dam at Cornwall, the Long Sault Dam at Long Sault, Ontario acts as a spillway when outflows are larger than the capacity of the power dam. Also the Iroquois Ice Dam at Iroquois, Ontario is principally used to help form a stable ice cover and regulate water levels at the power dam.
• There levels of Lake Ontario have been governed by Plan 1958DD.
• Proposed Plan B+ would generally provide for more variance in water levels, and generally this plan's levels peak earlier than the other two plans.
• Proposed Plan 2007 is the plan we're likely to get, and it isn't really much different than Plan 1958DD, except in low water conditions.

About the graph above

The graph below was taken from a document titled Proposed new Order and Plan 2007 published by the International Joint Commission , with the following changes applied here:

1. The graph was scanned from the document.
2. Plotted lines representing "Plan A+" (red) and "Plan D+" (green) were removed from the graph to make the graph more immediately understandable and because "Plan A+" and "Plan D+" are not really part of the discourse anymore.
3. Therefore the graph now shows only the three plans that are part of the public discourse in May 2008.

For reference, in early May 2008 we're seeing water levels 45 inches above chart datum or a level of 247 feet.