The Measurement of Flows in the Great Lakes Connecting Channels and the International Section of the St. Lawrence River

The discharge of a river is defined as the volume of water flowing past a particular point in unit time. The US Army Corps of Engineers collects flow data (discharge) in the Connecting Channels (the St. Marys River, the St. Clair River, the Detroit River, and the Niagara River) and the international section of the St. Lawrence River to develop and verify ratings for water level gauges, to analyze hydraulic structures, and to calibrate hydraulic models. Discharge data are also used operationally in navigation, hydropower production, lake regulation, water level forecasting, water apportionment, monitoring of compliance with agreements and treaties and in a wide range of studies.

Detailed information regarding the collection and use of flow or discharge data can be found in the report Discharge Measurement Procedures on the Great Lakes Connecting Channels and the International Section of the St. Lawrence River, prepared by the Coordinating Committee of Great Lakes Basic Hydraulic and Hydrologic Data in October 1991 as well as Update Articles from July and August 1992.

• Click here to download discharge measurements via comma separated value formatted text files suitable for use with most all spreadsheet and/or database programs.  

Click the links below to download the multivolume Hydraulic Discharge Measurements and Regimen Changes on the Great Lakes Connecting Channels and the International Section of the St. Lawrence River report (PDF).