Saskatchewan emergency management officials are preparing to evacuate Cumberland House as high water flows from Alberta make their way toward the province.
Agricultural land downstream of Lake Diefenbaker will flood and municipal infrastructure near the South Saskatchewan River could be affected, Water Security Agency officials said Friday.
Record inflows are expected on the river. Based on current rainfall in Alberta more than 6,000 cubic metres per second will flow along the river and into Lake Diefenbaker. The peak is expected Monday.
The agency has already been reducing outflows from the lake to try to create storage for the record amount of water. This will be the highest flow recorded since the lake was constructed in the 1960s and on the South Saskatchewan River since the early 1900s.
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Normal flow at this time of year is about 500 m3/s and over the weekend it will be about 2,000 m3/s. The river will rise about two metres as a result.
Alberta recently issued a high stream flow advisory for the North Saskatchewan River as well.
Cumberland House lies downstream of the confluence of the North and South Saskatchewan Rivers and officials are concerned about what will happen when the water arrives. The decision was made to evacuate the community ahead of time.
