Water flow in the Frenchman River basin began to pick up last weekend finally signaling the start of a much slower than usual spring runoff.
Saskatchewan Watershed Authority’s acting director of basin operations, John Fahlman, said the flow measured at six cubic metres per second April 23 climbed to 17 cubic metres on Easter Sunday and then to 22 by April 25.
“Our best guess is 200 so we’ve got a ways to go,” he said.
The region is one of the last to see melting this spring. Emergency preparedness officials have been working with communities in the area, including Eastend and Val Marie, to get ready for the event.
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Predictions called for the area to see water levels second only to the 1952 record.
Fahlman tagged the region as one to watch this week.
The other main area of concern is along the Qu’Appelle chain of lakes where flooding last week destroyed resort properties and businesses.
Katepwa and Mission lakes will peak above their record-setting 1974 levels, he said. Crooked and Round lakes, although at high levels, will not break records set in 1955.
Echo and Pasqua lakes are peaking at about 30 centimetres higher than their 1974 records.
Fahlman said the watershed authority will issue new estimates later this week about the second peaks expected on Crooked and Round lakes, likely the first week in May. He said it will be weeks before the water begins to drop.
“With the volumes involved, the recession is going to be quite slow,” he said. In 1974, it took until July for Echo Lake to reach normal levels.
Last Mountain Lake, to the west of the Qu’Appelle lakes, is still expected to rise another half a metre over the next week.
Another area to watch is the Assiniboine River basin, Good Spirit Lake and Quill Lakes.
The river is rising at Sturgis and Kamsack, and although Fahlman said he doesn’t expect major issues, the watershed authority will continue to monitor it.
The Whitesand River overflowed its banks between Canora and Yorkton for several days as new snow melt from the Preeceville area entered the system.
Although officials had said they didn’t expect Good Spirit Lake to flood like it did last year from rain, Fahlman said it is now possible that water levels will rise higher than they thought.
The water in the Quill Lakes should rise another metre before it stops. Fahlman noted that there is no place for water to flow out, and the lakes are large, so this represents a large volume.
Meanwhile, the SWA has stopped outflow from Boundary reservoir and begun releases from Rafferty and Alameda reservoirs instead. The three reservoirs must be operated under international agreements to get them down to normal levels, Fahlman said.
Other areas are seeing reduced flows and receding water, except for those regions where the melt was late.
“We’re approaching the end (of the cycle) I would guess,” he said. “Most of the snow in the province has melted.”
Mieka Torgrimson, director of Saskatchewan Emergency Management Organization, said communities are now looking at recovery efforts.
Twenty-three communities have already been designated eligible under the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program, and another 20 are in the process. This allows residents in the eligible municipalities to obtain government help.
As of April, 30 segments of provincial highway were still affected by water, and 13 were closed. Most were located in the Yorkton, Canora, Preece ville and Kelvington areas.
