An annual rite of spring is underway.
The International Joint Commission says preparations are underway for the removal of the Lake Erie ice boom.
This marks the second earliest removal of the boom on record.
The boom stops ice from flowing down the Niagara River and into the water intakes of the hydroelectric plant.
A spokesman for the New York Power Authority says crews are out removing the steel cables from the bottom of the lake, and then the spans will be towed up river to a storage site.