KINGSTON HAS MORE WATERFRONT THAN NORMAL.

LARGE TRACTS OF SHORELINE HAVE BEEN EXPOSED BECAUSE OF VERY LOW WATER LEVELS.

AND THEY DROPPED EVEN MORE IN RECENT DAYS.

OFFICIALS ARE DRAINING SOME WATER OUT OF LAKE ONTARIO ... IN ORDER TO HELP THE BIG BOATS REACH PORT IN MONTREAL.

NEWSWATCH'S PAUL SOUCY REPORTS.

the view along kingston's shoreline has changed significantly in recent weeks.

and it's not pretty picture.

more mud, weeds and pipes sticking out .... even exposed shipwrecks.

water levels in lake ontario are well below normal.

... a situation that worsened recently.

 Brian Cumming:

"The Ottawa River, feeding into The St.

Lawrence basically hasn't been maintaining the water high enough. The international St Lawrence Water Control Board has to let more water out of lake ontario to keep the port of montreal higher."

water levels almost half a metre lower than this time last year.

lack of snow last winter and a very dry summer are to blame.

this queen's professor of environmental sciences say it's difficult to know if this trend will continue.

Brian Cumming:

"Precipitation is hard to predict and hard to model, and hence, the predictions range from going back to normal to being way below average next year."

but for some it's not all bad news.

 SANDY;

'Other Marina's are coming to us to haul boats and use our ramp."

the kingston marina in the city's inner harbour has seen an increase in boat storage activity because it has one of the deepest ports in the

area.

 Sandy Crothers:

"Luckily we have usually seventeen feet at our gas dock and twelve feet at our docks - so we have a lot of room to play with. But I know in Montreal, and further down the river, they don't"

the wolfe island

ferry is also changing course to cope with low water levels - forced to move to its

deeper winter dock earlier than normal

 Paul Soucy/Reporter:

"However things look as if they may start to turn around. While water levels are lower compared to last year - the rain we've received so far this this fall has helped

improve the situation.

 Paul Soucy, CKWS Newswatch. Kingston."