Upstate New York Prepares as Lake Ontario Water Rises Again

Emergency officials in upstate New York are again preparing for possible flooding along Lake Ontario.

Niagara County’s director of emergency services, Jonathan Schultz, says lake levels have risen about five inches in 10 days.

Recent heavy rains, seasonal thaw and a reduction in the lake water the International Joint Commission releases into the St. Lawrence River are contributing to the high waters.

Schultz said crews will begin deploying sandbags and a state of emergency may be enacted if the lake rises by another six inches.

Flooding and heavy erosion along the lake’s shores in 2017 triggered an eventual federal disaster declaration.