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HOST INTRO: This week, WXXI is looking back at the events and people that made news in

2019. Lake Ontario experienced record-high flooding in 2019, and government officials are
trying to learn how to deal with the changing reality of life on the lakeshore. WXXI’s Veronica
Volk has been covering lake issues, and sat down with Megan Mack to talk about what’s
happened.

MEGAN: Veronica Volk, thanks for joining me.

VERONICA: Thanks Megan.

MEGAN: Ok so let’s start at the beginning -- why did the lake flood this year?

So there were a couple factors, first of all the Upper Great Lakes were and still are a lot higher
than usual. We also had record high precipitation in the basin which caused a lot more water to
flow into Lake Ontario, and of course you have an ongoing debate about whether or not Plan
2014 played a role. Scientists still say it was this record precipitation that caused the high levels.
Regulators were saying the lake was higher than usual as early as February which had people
concerned because they saw flooding in 2017.

MEGAN: When did the actual flooding start?

VERONICA: Kind of an interesting question because there was actually a steady climb from the
beginning of the year so you saw higher levels at the beginning of the year but it wasn’t actually
until about May or June that you saw records broken. Typically, that’s -- the high water season
happens in spring anyway, but this year in June we saw the lake rise to eventually 249 feet which
is about two and a half feet higher than usual.

One of the hardest things for people with homes and businesses along the lake is that it’s not a
flash flood it doesn’t come and go. It’s constant and goes on all throughout the summer.

MEGAN: I know we had a number of responses from government officials about the flooding
this year, how did they manage that?

VERONICA: I mean, we saw a lot of people in 2017, particularly town supervisors and local
officials speaking out against the IJC -- which is the regulating body of lake level management --
but this year, what was interesting is that you saw a lot of higher level officials. Senator Chuck
Schumer spoke out against the IJC, Governor Cuomo… Cuomo went so far as to announce that
the state was going to be suing the IJC.
But he also did this thing where he set up a commission to allow people to access grant money to
build back a more resilient shoreline. He basically said, this is the new normal, and we’re going
to have to prepare the shoreline for more flooding in the future.

MEGAN: So what happens now? What do you think we’ll see in 2020

VERONICA: The lake is still high so I guess we’ll see. I think for a lot of people living along the
shoreline, it's not a question of if the lake will flood again but when. One of the things we saw in
2019 that will carry out into the next year is people are shifting from reaction to preparedness.
There’s a lot more emphasis on building back the shoreline in a resilient way and preparing for
these higher levels.

MEGAN: Veronica Volk, thank you so much.

VERONICA: Thank you, Megan.

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