WSA says spring runoff is higher than expected in some areas

A higher-than-expected spring runoff appears to be helping some areas of Saskatchewan rebound from last year’s drought.

In its April update released Friday, the Water Security Agency (WSA) said the runoff “is helping to refill many of the reservoirs that were very low following last summer’s extended period of high heat and very little precipitation.”

The runoff is higher than expected in the Moose Jaw, Swift Current and Old Wives’ basins. Runoff in the Maple Creek, Battle, Frenchman and Lodge Creek basins is below normal, but it also is higher than was forecast initially.

The Bigstick Basin is experiencing below-normal runoff.

The Qu’Appelle system has high water levels due to ice in the channel. The WSA said ice jamming is still a concern and some flow is being sent down the Qu’Appelle River to prevent flooding upstream of Craven.

Other than Last Mountain Lake, the WSA is predicting all of the lakes in the Qu’Appelle system will have good summer levels.

“With still higher-than-normal alpine snowpack, WSA expects strong flows along the South Saskatchewan River and will help bring levels at Lake Diefenbaker up to desirable levels for summer, improving conditions for irrigation, recreation and hydro generation,” the update added.

The WSA said there’s a low risk for flooding across the province because the melting period is slow, with temperatures below 0 C overnight and staying cool during the day. That’s keeping runoffs in the appropriate channels.

That said, the WSA noted that if the snow melt speeds up, there still could be higher-than-expected runoffs in some areas.