An end-of-year report from the Great Lakes Adaptive Management Committee says last year’s floods could not have been prevented.
Last year, Lake Ontario and some of its tributaries were so high that homes and businesses along the shore were damaged and destroyed.
Residents blamed a newly implemented management plan, but the Great Lakes Adaptive Management Committee and its governing body, the International Joint Commission, have concluded that there was nothing that could have been done to prevent the flooding.
Kevin Bunch, a communication specialist with the IJC, said even though this is not a new finding, it’s important to reiterate this information to the public.
“You know whenever you have these disasters, people get concerned – how could we have prevented this? Is there any way to prevent this in the future?”
Bunch said the committee intends to continue to collect data about the extent of the damages incurred in 2017’s floods.
