Treaty Series No. 721
Convention Between the United States of America and Great Britain in Respect of the Dominion of Canada, Signed at Washington, February 24, 19258
The United States of America, and His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India, in respect of the Dominion of Canada,
[Page 551]Desiring to regulate the level of Lake of the Woods in order to secure to the inhabitants of the United States and Canada the most advantageous use of the waters thereof and of the waters flowing into and from the Lake on each side of the boundary between the two countries, and
Accepting as a basis of agreement the recommendations made by the International Joint Commission in its final report of May 18th, 1917,9 on the Reference concerning Lake of the Woods submitted to it by the Governments of the United States of America and Canada,
Have resolved to conclude a Convention for that purpose and have accordingly named as their plenipotentiaries:
The President of the United States of America: Charles Evans Hughes, Secretary of State of the United States; and
His Britannic Majesty, in respect of the Dominion of Canada: The Honorable Ernest Lapointe, K. C., a member of His Majesty’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Justice in the Government of that Dominion;
Who, having communicated to each other their full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed as follows:
Article I
In the present Convention, the term “level of Lake of the Woods” or “level of the lake” means the level of the open lake unaffected by wind or currents.
The term “Lake of the Woods watershed” means the entire region in which the waters discharged at the outlets of Lake of the Woods have their natural source.
The term “sea level datum” means the datum permanently established by the International Joint Commission at the town of Warroad, Minnesota, of which the description is as follows:
“Top of copper plug in concrete block carried below frost line, and located near fence in front of and to the west of new schoolhouse. Established October 3, 1912. Elevation, sea level datum, 1068.797.”
“The International Joint Commission” means the Commission established under the Treaty signed at Washington on the 11th day of January, 1909,10 between the United States of America and His Britannic Majesty, relating to boundary waters and questions arising between the United States and Canada.
[Page 552]Article II
The level of Lake of the Woods shall be regulated to the extent and in the manner provided for in the present Convention, with the object of securing to the inhabitants of the United States and Canada the most advantageous use of the waters thereof and of the waters flowing into and from the Lake on each side of the boundary between the two countries for domestic and sanitary purposes, for navigation purposes, for fishing purposes, and for power, irrigation and reclamation purposes.
Article III
The Government of Canada shall establish and maintain a Canadian Lake of the Woods Control Board, composed of engineers, which shall regulate and control the outflow of the waters of Lake of the Woods.
There shall be established and maintained an International Lake of the Woods Control Board composed of two engineers, one appointed by the Government of the United States and one by the Government of Canada from their respective public services, and whenever the level of the lake rises above elevation 1061 sea level datum or falls below elevation 1056 sea level datum the rate of total discharge of water from the lake shall be subject to the approval of this Board.
Article IV
The level of Lake of the Woods shall ordinarily be maintained between elevations 1056 and 1061.25 sea level datum, and between these two elevations the regulation shall be such as to ensure the highest continuous uniform discharge of water from the lake.
During periods of excessive precipitation the total discharge of water from the lake shall, upon the level reaching elevation 1061 sea level datum, be so regulated as to ensure that the extreme high level of the lake shall at no time exceed elevation 1062.5 sea level datum.
The level of the lake shall at no time be reduced below elevation 1056 sea level datum except during periods of low precipitation and then only upon the approval of the International Lake of the Woods Control Board and subject to such conditions and limitations as may be necessary to protect the use of the waters of the lake for domestic, sanitary, navigation and fishing purposes.
Article V
If in the opinion of the International Lake of the Woods Control Board the experience gained in the regulation of the lake under [Page 553] Articles III and IV, or the provision of additional facilities for the storage of waters tributary to the lake, demonstrates that it is practicable to permit the upper limit of the ordinary range in the levels of the lake to be raised from elevation 1061.25 sea level datum to a higher level and at the same time to prevent during periods of excessive precipitation the extreme high level of the lake from exceeding elevation 1062.5 sea level datum, this shall be permitted under such conditions as the International Lake of the Woods Control Board may prescribe. Should such permission be granted, the level at which under Article III the rate of total discharge of water from the lake becomes subject to the approval of the International Lake of the Woods Control Board may, upon the recommendation of that Board and with the approval of the International Joint Commission, be raised from elevation 1061 sea level datum to a correspondingly higher level.
Article VI
Any disagreement between the members of the International Lake of the Woods Control Board as to the exercise of the functions of the Board under Articles III, IV, and V shall be immediately referred by the Board to the International Joint Commission whose decision shall be final.
Article VII
The outflow capacity of the outlets of Lake of the Woods shall be so enlarged as to permit the discharge of not less than forty-seven thousand cubic feet of water per second (47,000 c. f. s.) when the level of the lake is at elevation 1061 sea level datum.
The necessary works for this purpose, as well as the necessary works and dams for controlling and regulating the outflow of the water, shall be provided for at the instance of the Government of Canada, either by the improvement of existing works and dams or by the construction of additional works.
Article VIII
A flowage easement shall be permitted up to elevation 1064 sea level datum upon all lands bordering on Lake of the Woods in the United States, and the United States assumes all liability to the owners of such lands for the costs of such easement.
The Government of the United States shall provide for the following protective works and measures in the United States along the shores of Lake of the Woods and the banks of Rainy River, in so far as such protective works and measures may be necessary for the purposes of the regulation of the level of the lake under the present [Page 554] Convention: namely, the removal or protection of buildings injuriously affected by erosion, and the protection of the banks at the mouth of Warroad River where subject to erosion, in so far in both cases as the erosion results from fluctuations in the level of the lake; the alteration of the railway embankment east of the town of Warroad, Minnesota, in so far as it may be necessary to prevent surface flooding of the higher lands in and around the town of Warroad; the making of provision for the increased cost, if any, of operating the existing sewage system of the town of Warroad, and the protection of the waterfront at the town of Baudette, Minnesota.
Article IX
The United States and the Dominion of Canada shall each on its own side of the boundary assume responsibility for any damage or injury which may have heretofore resulted to it or to its inhabitants from the fluctuations of the level of Lake of the Woods or of the outflow therefrom.
Each shall likewise assume responsibility for any damage or injury which may hereafter result to it or to its inhabitants from the regulation of the level of Lake of the Woods in the manner provided for in the present Convention.
Article X
The Governments of the United States and Canada shall each be released from responsibility for any claims or expenses arising in the territory of the other in connection with the matters provided for in Articles VII, VIII, and IX.
In consideration, however, of the undertakings of the United States as set forth in Article VIII, the Government of Canada shall pay to the Government of the United States the sum of two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars ($275,000) in currency of the United States. Should this sum prove insufficient to cover the cost of such undertakings one-half of the excess of such cost over the said sum shall, if the expenditure be incurred within five years of the coming into force of the present Convention, be paid by the Government of Canada.
Article XI
No diversion shall henceforth be made of any waters from the Lake of the Woods watershed to any other watershed except by authority of the United States or the Dominion of Canada within their respective territories and with the approval of the International Joint Commission.
[Page 555]Article XII
The present Convention shall be ratified in accordance with the constitutional methods of the High Contracting Parties and shall take effect on the exchange of the ratifications, which shall take place at Washington or Ottawa as soon as possible.
[seal]
[seal]
- Ratification advised by the Senate, Mar. 14, 1925; ratified by the President, Apr. 9, 1925; ratified by Great Britain in respect of Canada, May 30, 1925; ratifications exchanged at Washington, July 17, 1925; proclaimed by the President, July 17, 1925.↩
- Final Report of International Joint Commission on Lake of the Woods Levels (Washington, Government Printing Office, 1917).↩
- Foreign Relations, 1910, p. 532.↩