• Overview
• Legislation
• Mission, Guidelines and Goals
• Bylaws, Rules and Procedures, and Policies
• Members - Lake of the Woods Control Board
• Members - International Lake of the Woods Control Board
• Lake of the Woods Secretariat (Board staff)
• First Nations and their First Nations Advisors
• Specific Interest Groups and their Representatives
• Resource Agencies and their Resource Advisors

The responsibilities of the LWCB are fulfilled by directing what the outflows of Lake of the Woods and Lac Seul (and at times the Lake St. Joseph diversion) shall be. To assist it in determining these flows, the Board maintains a full-time Secretariat that monitors conditions in the basin, provides information and analysis, and recommends regulating strategy and/or specific outflows. It also implements strategy when so directed, conducts studies and maintains communications with basin users.

Although it took a little longer, discussions subsequent to the IJC recommendations of 1917 between the federal governments of Canada and the United States ultimately resulted in the 1925 Canada/USA Convention and Protocol regarding Lake of the Woods. This treaty established the water level operating range on Lake of the Woods, defined the purpose and general mode of operation, and provided for two boards to control regulation. The Canadian LWCB was to regulate the lake on an on-going basis, but its decisions were to be subject to approval by an International Lake of the Woods Control Board (ILWCB) whenever lake levels rose above or fell below certain limits.

With the passing of the Manitoba Natural Resources Act in 1930, Manitoba gained control over its natural resources. This led to the Lake of the Woods Control Board Act, Manitoba, 1958, and the amendment of the Canada and Ontario versions of the act in the same year, so that one of the Board members appointed by Canada was replaced by a member to be appointed by Manitoba.

As previously noted, the regulation of Lac Seul had been planned for and placed under LWCB jurisdiction in the initial LWCB acts. The Lac Seul Conservation Act of 1928 (both Canada and Ontario), provided for the construction of the dam on Lac Seul (to create a hydropower reservoir) and for the sharing of capital and on-going costs among the parties. The dam was built in 1930. Subsequently, in 1958, the waters of Lake St. Joseph (part of the Albany River system) were diverted into Lac Seul, as authorized by the Manitoba-Ontario Lake St. Joseph Diversion Agreement Authorization Act, 1958 (both Ontario and Manitoba). The LWCB Act, as amended/created in 1958, gave the LWCB certain powers over this diversion. Finally, in the 1986-91 period, Orders-in-Council were executed by Ontario, Canada and Manitoba to define the operating range on Lac Seul. The same range had been in use for many years based on the initial design but had never been formally adopted.

Copies of one or more versions of the above documents, in printable "pdf" format, can be accessed and viewed via the following links:

• Lake of the Woods Control Board Act, Canada, 1921
• Lake of the Woods Control Board Act, Ontario, 1922
• Tripartite Agreement, Canada, 1922
• Lake of the Woods Convention and Protocol, Canada, 1925
• Lake of the Woods Control Board Act, Manitoba, 1958
• Lake of the Woods Control Board Amendment Act, Ontario, 1958
• Lake of the Woods Control Board Amendment Act, Canada, 1958
• Lac Seul Conservation Act, Canada, 1928
• Lake St. Joseph Diversion Agreement Authorization Act, Manitoba, 1958
• Lac Seul Operating Range Order-in-Council, Canada, 1990

Mission, Guidelines and Goals

Click here for a printable "pdf" version of the "Mission, Guidelines and Goals" document.

Mission

Guidelines

Goals

1. To regulate and control the water levels of Lake of the Woods and Lac Seul, and the flows in the Winnipeg and English Rivers downstream of these lakes to their junction. Hydrometeorological data will be collected and assessed on a continuing basis, and regulation strategy will be set by the Board as necessary (both at and between regularly scheduled meetings). Approved regulation strategy will be implemented by the Board's Secretariat (by varying outflows as required). Approval of the International Lake of the Woods Control Board will be sought for regulation actions whenever the water level of Lake of the Woods is above elevation 323.39 m (1061.0 ft) or below elevation 321.87 m (1056.0 ft).
    
   
2. To ensure that all interests and users are taken into account in the decision making process. The Board and/or its Secretariat will consult with First Nations advisors, specific interest group representatives and resource agency advisors at regulation meetings (to be held within the basin at least three times per year) and also at other times whenever regulation strategy is being set. Information from First Nations, interest groups, resource advisors and the general public regarding desirable levels and flows in the various seasons, and relative impacts of undesirable conditions, will be collected, documented and periodically updated.
    
   
3. To maintain and strengthen public relations and communications so as to ensure that relevant information about regulation is available to the public and to improve the public's understanding of the competing demands on the resource and the regulation process. At least one public open house or public meeting will be held each year, with more added when basin conditions warrant. In addition, the Board and/or its Secretariat will endeavour to participate in events or meetings sponsored by others. Suitable means of providing information to the public on a regular basis will be maintained and revised as appropriate. Continuing effort will be made to inform the public about the range of water levels to be expected, shoreline risks, variability of conditions and limitations to achieving desirable water level conditions.
    
   
4. To maintain and, as possible, strengthen the technological tools of the Board, in order to facilitate the assessment of watershed conditions, the evaluation of alternative regulation strategies and the rationale for decisions. Errors, omissions and inconsistencies in the hydrometeorological database for the basin will be identified and corrected, wherever possible and practicable. New and alternate means of collecting hydrometeorological data will be adopted, and the range and extent of this data expanded, where feasible. Existing computer models and tools will be maintained and enhanced where possible, and new or alternate tools and models will be periodically reviewed and adopted as appropriate, subject to resource limitations, to address the Board's operational needs, especially in the areas of lake and river simulation modelling and modelling related to inflow forecasting.
    
   
5. To anticipate and respond to issues or activities that impact on the mandate or responsibilities of the LWCB. To the best of its ability, the Board will monitor, and react to as appropriate, activities and initiatives of others in the basin related or potentially related to water levels and flows. The Board will liaise with, and exchange information with, agencies and governments active in the basin. In particular, shoreline development plans will be evaluated, as well as activities or studies in the upper basin (Rainy and Namakan lakes) which could potentially affect the downstream area, and comments or recommendations provided as appropriate

First, the Board has a set of Bylaws which, after identifying a number of key documents and terms, proceed to formally define the Board's regulating objectives, its makeup, its meeting requirements, its administrative and financial procedures, and its Secretariat. The Bylaws also define the process for consultation with First Nations, the rights and responsibilities of recognized Specific Interest Groups and Resource Agencies, and the roles of the Board Chair and Executive Engineer.

Second, the Board has a set of Rules and Procedures pertaining to its Secretariat, which address the operations and housing of the Secretariat within Environment Canada, and the financial and personnel administration of the Secretariat.

Finally, the Board has a set of Policies, which address the operation of hydraulic generating stations and dams under the Board's jurisdiction, the issuing of public information and advisories, and the requirements for water flow and level data at flow control facilities.

Copies of these documents, in printable "pdf" format, can be accessed and viewed or downloaded via the following links:

• LWCB Bylaws
• LWCB Rules and Procedures
• LWCB Policies