Micron

[chinook35]

I just saw on the news that Micron in Clay NY will require 17,000,000 gallons of water per day from lake O  . That’s 119,000,000 gallons per month  

I can’t help but wonder if this amount of draw will affect the water levels on the lake 

the embayments

like N and S Sandy ponds , Sodus bay , Henderson harbor etc. 

the hundreds of boat launches along the lake shore and the St Lawrence seaway  The seaway may need to keep the locks open to maintain a safe depth for ships to transit. 
it remains to be seen what effect this will have on the lake 

119,000,000 gallons of water per month seems like a huge draw 

 

[GAMBLER]

We take 55 million gallons a day from Lake Ontario with one plant and another 10 million gallons with another plant on average.  Our two plant capacity is 190 million gallons a day.   It's a drop in the bucket when Lake Ontario is trillions of gallons of water.  With the water being used, water is also being treated at wastewater plants and put back into Lake Ontario.  

Edited March 17 by GAMBLER

[Gill-T]

Just like using your sink, water in/water out. Water taken from Lake Ontario will find its way back to the lake minus the volume lost to evaporation or to ground water. Most likely the effects will not be seen

[LongLine]

The Great Lakes Commission says there are 395 Cubic miles of water in Lake Ontario.  That's over 432 TRILLION gallons.

 

On March 19, the outflow of the st Lawrence was 6,860 Cubic meters per second.  That's roughly 1.8 Million gallons per second.

 

Approximately 700,000 gallons flow over Niagara fall every second. (Obviously other rivers also feed the lake) 

 

The Micron usage is a drop in the bucket.  The question should not be the quantity of water but the quality of the water.  I.E. Is it as clean as the water they are withdrawing?   I'd also ask what temperature will the water be that they put back? 
 

[GAMBLER]

On 3/25/2026 at 8:20 PM, LongLine said:

The Great Lakes Commission says there are 395 Cubic miles of water in Lake Ontario.  That's over 432 TRILLION gallons.

 

On March 19, the outflow of the st Lawrence was 6,860 Cubic meters per second.  That's roughly 1.8 Million gallons per second.

 

Approximately 700,000 gallons flow over Niagara fall every second. (Obviously other rivers also feed the lake) 

 

The Micron usage is a drop in the bucket.  The question should not be the quantity of water but the quality of the water.  I.E. Is it as clean as the water they are withdrawing?   I'd also ask what temperature will the water be that they put back? 
 

Every utility or business that has an outfall that returns water to the lake has to have a SPDES permit.  The water returning to the lake has to be very clean and levels are strictly enforced.  

[Gill-T]

Unless you are the Buffalo Sewer Authority below the peace bridge. They supposedly have PVC pipe plumbing that would burst in winter so they dump right into the river in winter months.  Next time you are on the Maid of the Mist tour below the falls and you are looking up in awe…..keep your mouth closed. 

Edited March 27 by Gill-T

[GAMBLER]

On 3/27/2026 at 2:55 PM, Gill-T said:

Unless you are the Buffalo Sewer Authority below the peace bridge. They supposedly have PVC pipe plumbing that would burst in winter so they dump right into the river in winter months.  Next time you are on the Maid of the Mist tour below the falls and you are looking up in awe…..keep your mouth closed. 

They have the permit.  When they have these releases, they get fined.  I read about a big release last year and they didn't notify the Maid of the Mist in time and a run was made up there.  Yuck!  

[Tall Tails]

Imagine how much Toronto grabs... MIcron won't even be blip on the radar.. 

[GAMBLER]

27 minutes ago, Tall Tails said:

Imagine how much Toronto grabs... MIcron won't even be blip on the radar.. 

If my memory is correct, they have three plants that can take roughly 500 million gallons per day from Lake Ontario.