Welland Canal will open on March 24.   Ottawa—The entire St. Lawrence Seaway won't open its locks until April 1 to help lower high-water levels plaguing the Great Lakes. The Welland Canal will begin operations March 24. Given the mild weather this winter and the low level of ice coverage on the Lakes, the waterway could have fully opened on March 20, the Seaway Management Corp (SMC) said. Last year the Welland Canal opened March 22 and the MLO section between Montreal and Lake Ontario opened March 26. SMC said delaying the opening of the MLO to April 1 will enable the maximum amount of water to be removed from the Great Lakes. After that “there are no appreciable benefits to increasing outflows by delaying the Seaway opening.” While delaying the opening was a difficult decision, “we maintain that it is the reasonable thing to do under the current circumstances,” SMC said. “Some will be of the view that 12 lost days of utilization of St. Lawrence Seaway, the most environmentally sustainable mode of transportation to the heartland of North America, is 12 days too many.” Bruce Burrows, President of the Chamber of Marine Commerce, said the delay is disappointing because as many as 100 ship transits could have transited during that time. moved during that 12 days. “Grain exports are ready to go and our food production, steel and manufacturing customers urgently need raw materials as their winter inventories are running out,” he said. “They cannot afford any further delays that could affect factory operations. “Given the current disruption impacting Canada's national railways, we certainly do not need delays of transportation of critical supplies and products on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway transportation and trade corridor. “A much broader, holistic resiliency plan that that looks at every avenue including flood zoning, shoreline resiliency and infrastructure investments for residents and business owners,” Burrows said. “The marine shipping industry is working with officials across both sides of the border, as well as scientific experts here in Canada to study what improvements can be made that could lead to navigation during increased outflow periods when water is high on Lake Ontario.” SMC said that even when the Seaway is fully open, there will be high outflows of water from the Great Lakes and it is taking measures to reduce the risk to ships navigating them. “We have retained the services of a risk management expert to assist in developing strategies to maintain safe navigation under high Lake Ontario outflows. We are confident that both short- and long-term solutions to commercial navigation challenges exist that will enable us to maintain our resiliency and predictability for many years to come.” “Through innovation and investment, commercial navigation is now more reliable and predictable than ever,” SMC said. “We are continuing to pursue creative solutions to sustain commercial navigation as outflows from Lake Ontario outflows are maximized.” The opening of the Welland Canal in advance of the MLO section will benefit “shippers and carriers eager to start moving cargo as soon as possible this spring.” Delaying the Seaway opening beyond April 1 will “only provide an incremental reduction in Lake Ontario water levels. Economic analysts have determined that a 4-week delay would result in $445 million in lost economic activity and over 5,250 jobs adversely affected. There would also be over $30 million in additional transportation, environmental, social and ship carrier costs.” Alex Binkley is a freelance journalist and writes for domestic and international publications about agriculture, food and transportation issues. He's also the author of two science fiction novels with more in the works.