Low water levels on St. Lawrence River causing problems for marinas, shipping industry

October 15, 2025

Low water levels on St. Lawrence River causing problems for marinas, shipping industry

Unusually dry weather has pushed the St. Lawrence River to its lowest level in more than a decade, leaving marina owners and shipping operators scrambling to deal with the consequences.

Along Lake Saint-Louis, boats that would normally be floating in the water are now stranded on exposed riverbeds.

Some marina owners say they haven’t seen levels this low in years.

“The water levels we have right now — it’s the level we usually have in July,” said one marina operator, Pierre Champoux, co-owner of Marina Île Perrot. “So there is a big problem.”

The shallow water has already caused damage to vessels. In some areas, boaters have hit rocks that are normally well below the surface.

“We had about a dozen cases where boats hit something,” Champoux said. “One customer, it cost them almost $50,000 after hitting a propeller.”

With winter approaching, the challenge is growing. Boats stuck on the riverbed need to be moved before the water freezes. To help, officials are planning a temporary increase in water flow from the Moses-Saunders Dam near Cornwall.

“What has been proposed this year, exceptionally, is to release a little more water so that we can get these boats out on time,” said Jérôme Marty, a water management expert with the International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR).