The Lake Erie ice boom is nearly removed after a few days of high winds caused delays.
The New York Power Authority received approval from the International Niagara Board of Control and the International Joint Commission on April 6 to remove the ice boom. Lou Paonessa, senior director of community affairs for WNY at NYPA, said that the weather experienced soon after approval was the main source of delays.
“We didn’t want people out there in high-wind days,” he said.
The removal happens in three phases, with the first phase, moving the four strings that hold the steel pontoons from traveling down the Niagara River, to be finished on Thursday. Phase two is removing buoy barrels and setting anchor cables on the lake floor and phase three is putting the pontoons into storage in the Buffalo River, which should take a few days.
Before the removal process started, some loose pontoons had to be secured and spans attached to a breakwall had to be dealt with, which Paonessa said was additional work this year.
Pontoons got loose in 2025 and ended up in the Niagara River rapids and by Goat Island, with NYPA and the New York State Parks Police Swift Water Rescue Team removing them.
All the ice in Lake Erie has melted, so no one should expect any to flow down the Niagara River into Lake Ontario.
Paonessa said this is not one of the latest removals, as the ice boom in other years has been in place into May.