<P> While the seaway is currently (as of 2010) mostly used for shipping bulk cargo, the possibility of its use for large - scale container shipping is under consideration as well . If the expansion project goes ahead, feeder ships would take containers from the port of Oswego on Lake Ontario in upstate New York to Melford International Terminal in Nova Scotia for transfer to larger oceangoing ships . </P> <P> A website hosts measurements of wind, water, levels and water temperatures . A real - time interactive map of seaway locks, vessels, and ports is available at . The NOAA - funded Great Lakes Water Level Dashboard compiles statistics on water depth at various points along the seaway . </P> <P> To create a navigable channel through the Long Sault rapids and to allow hydroelectric stations to be established immediately upriver from Cornwall, Ontario, and Massena, New York, Lake St. Lawrence was created behind a dam . This required the condemnation and acquisition by the government of all the properties of six villages and three hamlets in Ontario; these are now collectively known as The Lost Villages . The area was flooded on July 1, 1958, creating the lake . There was also inundation on the New York side of the border, and the village of Louisville Landing was submerged . </P> <P> A notable adverse environmental effect of the operation of the seaway has been the introduction of numerous invasive species of aquatic animals into the Great Lakes Basin . The zebra mussel has been most damaging in the Great Lakes and through its invasion of related rivers, waterways, and city water facilities . </P>

How does the erie canal affect the outline of the st lawrence river