Lake of the Woods appears to have crested, according to the Lake of the Woods Control Board.
Now many are wondering when Lake of the Woods will return to normal summer levels, a question that isn't easily answered.
"As was the case while the lake was rising, it is not possible to develop a forecast for the rate of drop in the level over the long term because the rainfall is unknown," said the LWCB in its Friday update.
But the Control Board did provide a number of scenarios for how the lake level might drop in the coming weeks and months based on assumptions about the upstream water supply and the hydraulics of the system.
"Should a sustained period of hot and dry weather develop across the watershed, the level could reach the normal operating range in mid-August," said the Control Board noting that a return to wet weather would slow the drop in the lake level.
"Extremely wet weather, as occurred in September 2019, would see levels rising again, pushing back the return to the normal operating range into the late fall," added the Control Board.
Lake of the Woods is at the highest level since 1950 and would need to drop 72 cm (2.4 ft) to return to the normal operating range of 323.39 m (1061.0 ft). Dams in Kenora will remain fully open until a lake level of at least 323.47 m (1061.25 ft) is reached.
"As the lake drops through the summer, the outflow will also fall, and the level of the Winnipeg River in Ontario will gradually drop. The level will drop more quickly once the lake is back within the normal operating range and larger outflow reductions can be made," said the Control Board.