NIAGARA COUNTY, N.Y. — There was no way to prevent the floods along Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence Seaway that devastated communities in 2017.
In a new report, the International Joint Commission, the agency that regulates water levels in those bodies, says there was very little it could have done to mitigate the damage.
Instead, it was "extreme weather and water supply conditions" in both the lake and the river, forces of nature outside of the commission's control, that caused the flooding. Plan 2014, which gives the commission authority to regulate water levels in the lake and river, is not to blame, the report concludes.
Some still disagree with that determination.
"If you read the plan, it calls for higher highs and lower lows than we've ever seen before," said Matt Yablonski. "We haven't experienced any of the lows but we experienced that high."
Yablonski operates Wet Net Charters out of the Wilson Boat Harbor. He also sits on the Niagara Fisheries Board.
He believes the IJC could have done something to prevent the flooding.
"Of course, we had record amounts of rain, which was really why the water rose. But the St. Lawrence Seaway, they have that shipping, for the ships to come in and out. If they would open the gates to let a little more water out earlier when they saw the water rising, it wouldn't have been nowhere near as bad as it was," said Yablonski.
Ross Ruttner wind surfs at nearby Olcott Beach. He agrees and think the IJC need to go back to the pre 2014 Plan.
"They need to keep it at the levels they previously had before this agreement occurred because that would have kept it good for the fishermen, the surfers, all of us, and the property owners, all their property also," said Ruttner.
The IJC acknowledged in the report that regulating the water levels can help reduce flood damages but stressed it can't prevent a major flood under extreme conditions.
The report concluded shoreline communities need to be more resilient since climate change could increase the frequency and unpredictability of another flood.