Icebreaking? It’s cool

Icebreaking? It’s cool    A new study finds that icebreaking on the St. Lawrence Seaway had no adverse impacts to the shoreline.
   The three-year study was conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corp., Transport Canada, the Canadian St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp., the U.S. St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, and the Canadian Mohawk Council of Akwesasne.
   “Using a baseline characterizing the impact of natural ice break-up and clear-out, the study revealed that the use of icebreakers to clear the shipping channel did not result in any measurable change to shoreline ice scour and/or land-fast ice breaking away from the shore,” said a press release issued by DOT.
   During the study, landowners along the shoreline from the U.S. Snell Lock to the middle of Lake St. Francis, did not report any negative effects from the icebreaking activity. The study found forces imposed on the shoreline due to icebreaking activities were significantly less than the forces exhibited by ice floes driven onto the shoreline by high wind conditions. ' Chris Dupin